Campus Crush
by LIV3xLAUGHxL0V3
Summary: Everyone has that one fantasy about meeting their favorite actor or singer, and having that love-at-first-sight thing happen to them, right?  Little did I know that it would happen to me, especially on a college campus.  KendallxJo
1. Chapter 1

**Hola BTR lovers! It's Megs here. So, i finally decided to post a _Big Time Rush_ story. Yay Me! Sorry - London Tipton moment. Focus, Meg. ANYWHO, I was kind of thinking about this one day last week, as I have become obsessed with BTR fanfics in the last couple months. I thought that this would make a great Kendall/OC story, but with all the OC Contests and OC Stories out there, and seeing how cliche most of them are, I decided not to bore you fine readers with another one. Don't get me wrong - some are really good with original plots and everything. I'm reading like 5 OC stories. One (and only one) of them is probably one of those cliche "So-and-so moves to Hollywood. While living at the Palm Woods, she falls in love with a certain BTR boy. " sort of things. But it's good and i like it :) Anyways, that isn't the point.**

**So, my favorite couple on the show is Kendall and Jo. They're so cute together, and half of my favorite stories on here are KendallxJo ones. Or KendallxOC's, but again, not the point. I'm somewhat basing Jo off of my life for the first chapter, but I'm gonna relate her character more to the show as this continues. I really hope you enjoy this, and please leave some review with all the constructive criticism you can think of. Thanks; enjoy!**

**Ooh! Also, I noticed some authors like to advertise their current favorites in the beginning author's note thing, or whatever you wanna call this. So, these are the ones I'm currently obsessed with:**

**"September" - Miss Fenway  
(check out all of her stories - their mostly Logan-Angst, with lots of bromance and emotion. Seriously, keep a box of Kleenex near you when you read them)  
"Coffee Break" - tawniee  
"Bittersweet" - surfergal23  
"My Best Friend's A Vampire" - Fish Stick Friday**

**And, yeah, I think that's it. Now, you may read my story :D**

**Disclaimer**: Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. I do not own any of the songs I mention. Nor do I own the title - those rights belong to ABC Family, and their _Campus Crush Weekend_ marathon type things. However, I do own NJU, as there is no such school called New Jersey University. Unless I missed that when I did my college research this year...

* * *

Okay, let's be honest, here. Everyone has that one fantasy about meeting their favorite actor or singer, and having that love-at-first-sight thing happen to them, right? Then, they would fall in love with one another, the non-celebrity would maybe start their own acting or singing career with their significant other, they'd get married, and live happily ever after in the heart of Hollywood.

Every girl has that fantasy right? I know I've had it with Ashton Kutcher in the _That 70's Show_/pre-Demi Moore days. Could ya blame me? He was hot. Hell, even to this day, like five years after _That 70's Show_ ended and some amount of years of his and Demi's happy marriage, I fantasize about him meeting me, then divorcing Demi, and the two of us would live happily ever after. No singing or acting career. That was my roommate's dream, but that's not important right now.

Like that would happen, though. Yeah, it's fun to dream about, but, come on, honestly! That's one of my biggest pet peeves, when super fans of celebrities, like Justin Bieber or Robert Pattinson, think that they will meet their celebrity crush and marry them. Not just think; they _know_ that that will happen.

My roommate loved the performing arts. Singing, dancing, acting, performing... you name it, she did it. As for me, I loved working with kids. I don't know how, but ever since I was ten or eleven years old, I loved just hanging out with younger kids, or helping some of my younger friends out with whatever problem they were currently having.

In high school, I participated in all the mentoring and teaching programs: Peer Leadership, Character Education, 3D (The Day for the Developmentally Disabled), the Cross-Age teaching program, along with the usual dance and yearbook committees. I babysat every other weekend for my neighbors, spent like, three summers as a camp counselor back in my hometown in rural North Carolina… I even had to babysit my English teacher's three year old son one day for Bring Your Child To Work day. How cool was that? Lame, I know, but it was pretty cool when you think about it. I was able to skip my classes for the day to chaperone the cutest little boy, and take him to the art room to paint, the gym to play basketball, and all that other fun stuff the school had set up for kids.

But, of course, at eighteen, I was still trying to figure myself out. I knew I wanted more, but didn't know what exactly. This was when Kendall Knight came into the picture. Yup, thee Kendall Knight of Big Time Rush.

Little did I know how those little Ashton Kutcher fangirl fantasies would play out.

* * *

_Baby, you're a firework  
__C'mon let your colors burst  
__Make them go 'oh, oh, oh'  
__As you shoot across-_

I slammed the Snooze button on my iHome alarm clock for the umpteenth time that morning, groaning as I did so. I could hear my roommate rummaging through her belongings as she got ready for class, or play rehearsals, or whatever the fuck she was going to do that day. I slammed my pillow over my head, trying to block out the access noise. Why couldn't I just go back to sleep?

"C'mon you, up and at 'em," my roommate and best friend Camille said cheerfully, ripping my comforter off of me and pulling it all the way down to the foot of my bed. She's majoring in musical theater at the same school as me. Obviously. She was born and raised in Connecticut, and came down to New Jersey University's Atlantic County campus (the other campus was up near Wayne or Newark... one of those cities, I couldn't remember which). Why? Her obsession with _Jersey Shore_, that's why. No, I'm serious.

I loved Camille to death, I really did. We had grown so close in the last six or so months we had known each other – almost like sisters. Awww. But, like me and my younger sisters, there were also times where I couldn't stand her. Like right now, when the bitch decided to rip the covers off of me.

I groaned again. "Sleepy," I uttered, removing my head from under the pillow, resting it on the soft surface.

"Come on, it's 9:15, your class starts at 10, and it's a twenty minute walk to the building. So get your little ass out of bed," Camille responded.

My eyes shot wide open. "9:15?" I asked. She nodded with a smirk on her face. "Shit," I muttered and scrambled out of my bed. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" I continued to say under my breath. I grabbed my shower caddie, a towel, and a clean pair of jeans before rushing toward our floor's bathroom.

As you probably guessed, I am a freshman at NJU. We were not too far away from Atlantic City where we were, making this a big party school. I wasn't much of a partier, but I didn't mind all that much. What I did mind was when Camille would go to one with a few of her theater friends, get wasted, and call me to drag her back to the room. That happened nearly fifty times since the school year started. And it was February now!

I took a quick five minute shower (a new personal record) and tied my long blonde hair into a messy bun before running back to mine and Camille's dorm, wearing only a pair of dark skinny jeans and a bra. Just what every girl wears out everyday, right? A few people stared, but I didn't care. This was typical for me when I had a morning class.

Camille was still in the room when I came back, packing her school bag with random notebooks, her script, and a Rubix cube. Don't ask, I don't know. "Wow, a new record," she commented. Ha, told ya!

"Shut up," I smirked and made my way over to our closet. I grabbed a black camisole and a gray and navy blue striped sweater, pulling each over my head. I put on my pair of Uggs and rushed to my bed. "Time," I called.

"9:24," Camille replied a second later. Huh, maybe I wouldn't be too late after all. Yay!

"Yes," I heard myself sigh and went to my desk. I went to the small coffee maker my parents had gotten specifically for these kinds of mornings, put in one of those K-Cup things, and shoved a To Go cup underneath it before stuffing my school bag with what I needed.

Anyone who knew me knew that I couldn't go a day without coffee.

Camille simply laughed. "You realize you're wasting your time making that coffee, right?" she asked me.

I looked up at her. "Do you know me?" I asked back. She smirked and zipped her bag. "And didn't you just say that I was setting a new record?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "You never know," she answered, coming up to me and giving me a hug. "I'll met you at the diner in a couple hours, right after rehearsal is finished," she told me.

I worked as a waitress at a local diner. It wasn't too far, just a couple miles off campus. It wasn't so bad – the customers were nice, the other waiters and waitresses were always helpful, the pay was descent, and the food was to die for. I worked mostly afternoons and weekends. I rarely worked weeknights, because that was my time for homework, papers, research, and all the other glorious stuff that comes with college life. "Sounds good," I said, releasing myself from Camille's grip. "Text me!" I called after her as she left.

"'Kay!" I heard her call back from the door way. I smiled, grabbed my coffee, putting some Splenda and creamer in it. I applied some foundation and eyeliner on my face as quickly and neatly as I could, put on my black winter jacket, grabbed my cell phone and iPod, and went out the door just after 9:30.

Though it was February, it was a sunny day, with a couple inches of snow on the ground from the last snow storm, and a light, cold breeze blowing through the air. Something I wasn't too pleasant about with wet hair. Another reason why I loved my coffee so much.

I walked down the cobble-stone pathway to my first and only class of the day. It was an English class, which I was kind of happy about. It was one of my easiest classes I had to take. I didn't know why I had to take English when I wanted to teach little kids, but whatever, it was school policy. Couldn't argue with that. I could, but I wouldn't win. I was never good at standing up for myself. In fact, I was the reason our team lost when we had debate or mock trial projects in History and Sociology. Anyways…

I walked past the cafeteria/student recreation center. Outside, a couple of guys were tossing a Frisbee back and forth, and many other students were coming in and out for breakfast. I would have too, but I woke up late, and wouldn't have time to eat a bagel or anything. Like Camille said, my class was on the other end of campus, and it would take me about twenty minutes to get there, minimum.

I snatched my iPod out of my bag and put it on Shuffle, shoving the earbuds in my ears. I put it in my jeans pocket, and continued making my way to class. As I walked, I noticed a large poster plastered on the building next to the cafeteria.

It was an advertisement for a concert that would take place tomorrow night, and the night after. The logo for Big Time Rush was in the center with four guys standing behind it. They were a pretty popular band, and were presented as the next Jonas Brothers. I had to admit, they did make great music. I had a couple of their songs on my iPod, but I wasn't a really big fan.

Now, what I wanted to know was why they were playing at a college. And better yet, a college in South Jersey. We were no where near any major cities. Okay, Atlantic City, but there weren't any concert venues or malls or TV studios or anything you would expect a band to perform at anywhere around here. There were maybe a few at AC, but you had to be over twenty-one to go in them. And their general fan base consisted of teens and preteens. I think.

However, guess who had a major crush on one of the guys? Yup, you guessed it. Camille. Actually, she liked all of the guys. But her favorite was probably Logan, the only tenor of the boy band. She mostly talked about him, and even bought one of those teen-gossip magazines with twenty-some celebrities on the cover just to get a poster of him for her side of the dorm. But that was Camille for you. She even got us tickets to see them perform both nights. Oh, joy.

I continued walking down the walkway, sipping at my coffee and listening to whatever song was playing on my iPod. Currently, it was one of Bruno Mars' songs. I was obsessed with his album. Why couldn't he come perform here? If Big Time Rush was playing at the theater, Bruno Mars should come down here and perform too, right? It only made sense.

At that time, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I snatched it out of my pocket, seeing a text from one of my friends in North Carolina. I smiled, seeing as how I hadn't talked to her in weeks. Months, even. My fingers glided across the keypad as I typed my message to her. And just like anyone, I didn't pay much attention to what was happening around me. So it was only natural for me to run into someone while texting, right? Right.

That's exactly what happened. Being the natural klutz I am, I walked right into someone. A guy, I noticed. Some coffee splashed out of my To Go cup and oh so coincidentally landed on his shirt and jacket.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," I apologized quickly, taking the earbuds out of my ears.

I heard the guy chuckle. "It's okay," he tried to reassure me.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry," I repeated, surveying the damage. Sure enough, there were light brown stains on his black jacket and white t-shirt. Wonderful. "Oh God, it's all on your shirt and-"

"It's okay!" the guy repeated with another laugh.

At this point, I realized I never met the guy's face, mostly out of embarrassment. So I looked up, and was mesmerized by what I saw.

It had to have been one of the most gorgeous guys I had ever seen. Corny, much? Yeah, I think so. But seriously though, it was. He looked familiar, too, but I couldn't quite put my finger on where I'd seen him before. Maybe he was in one of my classes and I just never paid any attention to him or something. He was tall, but not too tall. He was probably stood around 5'10". His dirty blonde hair was in its usual shaggy cut, hidden under a dark gray beanie. His bangs were still visible, though, stopping over a pair of dark, thick eyebrows. His eyes were large and soulful, with a nice green tint to them.

"I'm so sorry," I repeated again.

A smirk appeared on his thin lips. "You know, one of my biggest pet peeves is when people use 'sorry' more than they should," he replied. Well, then.

I let out a nervous chuckle and examined the stain again. "Okay," I said, not knowing what else to say. "I can't believe I did that to you. I'm so-" I cut myself off when I looked back up to his face, seeing one of those thick eyebrows raised, his green eyes locked with my dark brown ones. "Right," I chuckled nervously.

"It's okay, really," he said, extending his hand out for me to shake. "Kendall Knight," he introduced.

Then, it clicked in my head as to where I'd seen him before. Big Time Rush. "H-hi," I stuttered, smiling a little as I met my free hand with his. It was big compared to my own, and felt warm, despite the cold weather. I felt my stomach do flips as we made contact with each other. "Jo Taylor," I introduced myself.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Ms. Taylor," he replied as our hands separated. I was sad. Couldn't we continue shaking hands?

"Likewise, Mr. Knight," I said with what I hoped was a flirty smile.

I heard a loud chime from the campus clock. It wasn't too far away, maybe a good ten or twenty yards away from where Kendall and I stood. I looked over, seeing it was now ten o'clock. Oh, crap.

"Shit, I'm late" I muttered, adjusting my bag on my shoulder.

I looked back up at Kendall for a brief second. "Leaving so soon?" he asked with a somewhat cocky, playful smile.

I tried to think of a witty comeback because, well, that's who I was. A naturally witty and sarcastic person. But my brain wouldn't cooperate with my mouth properly. "U-unfortunately," I said with a slight stutter. Damn him for making me like this. I started to walk away as the clock chimed again, turning around to face Kendall again. "I'll see you around, maybe?" I questioned, then mentally kicked myself. It was Kendall Knight! Why in his right mind would he want to run into little old me again? Especially with his crazy schedule.

"See you around," Kendall said, smiling. Not one of those fake, polite ones, but a real, genuine smile.

I smiled back, biting my lip. "Bye," I muttered before turning around and rushing to class.

* * *

**Not bad, I hope? :)**

**Again, I really hope you guys enjoyed this. And please review back? I promise that this will be a better story than it seems.**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, I started writing this immediately after I posted the first chapter last night. I had _The Notebook_, playing in the background, 2 or 3 reviews submitted, and about five of my favorite BTR stories updated meanwhile, giving me lots of inspiration for this :) I woke up this morning and checked my email, seeing I had a few additional reviews, and so many more Story Alert and Favorite Story Alerts from you. Thank you guys so much! I never thought that this would get as popular as it has already, as none of my other previous stories were like that after the first chapter (they've all sadly been deleted - don't even bother looking at my profile to read them. They all kinda sucked, anyway :P)**

**So, while I should be doing my Creative Writing project due Wednesday (a memoir on my seventeen years of life), I decided to finish this and give you guys another update! Yay :D**

**I guess this is more of a filler-chapter. I'm not too crazy about it, but let's see what you guys think. Hopefully good? You get to see a little bit into Jo's life and job, see what her personality is like, how she interacts with the other guys, etc. Ooh, and the cutest little girl in the entire world is in here! Now you get to see how she interacts with kids and why she wants to teach so badly. Not sure if I mentioned this in the previous chapter, but she's majoring in Early-Childhood Education. If not, i'll be sure to mention it in an upcoming chapter. :D**

**Anywho, i'll advertise a couple more stories for you guys and then you can get started, maybe?**

**"Hooked" - surfergal23  
****"Head On Collision" - Miss Fenway  
"Two Is Better Than One" - DarkElements10**

**Alright now, Happy Reading! :D**

**Disclaimer**: Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. I do not own any of the songs I mention. Nor do I own the title - those rights belong to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

* * *

"Alright, we got a burger with no onions for the gentleman, a Caesar salad for the lady, and some Cheerios for the cutie in the high chair," I listed, handing the prepared dishes to a young married couple and their daughter, who couldn't have been younger then eighteen months. She was babbling happily in a wooden high chair to a teddy bear. I patted her head as I placed the small plate of cereal in front of her. She giggled and looked back up at me. "Hi!" I said excitedly, a huge smile on my face. She giggled back, trying to hand me her teddy bear. "Awww," I laughed as she continued to shove it towards me.

"I think that's her way of tipping you," the twenty-come year old guy laughed, his wife doing the same.

I laughed back, turning to face the little girl again. "Tell you what cutie, those are on the house. So you can hold on to your bear then, okay?" I asked her in a playful tone of voice, lightly shoving the small toy back to her. Again, she giggled back. Oh, the innocence of toddlerhood, if that's even a word. I tapped her little nose lightly with my index finger as her mother spoke next.

"Thank you," I heard her say graciously to me.

"You're welcome," I smiled politely, standing straight up and fixing my shirt. "Is there anything you guys need – ketchup, mustard, ground pepper, refills, anything?" I questioned them.

"Yeah, can I get a refill?" the husband asked, holding his glass out to me.

"Of course, right on it," I replied smiling, taking the glass and walking back to the bar-thing of the diner.

It was a typical Thursday afternoon for me. It was around three o'clock now. English class ended at twelve sharp, as usual, and I headed straight for Jack's Diner to begin my shift, named after the owner himself, Jackson Bryce. Original, right?

Usually, nothing eventful happened. And today seemed to be no exception. The lunch rush ended a short while ago, maybe closer to two o'clock, but there were still a couple lingering customers, with a few others that followed. Like that young family I just served.

I was still in the skinny jeans and Uggs I wore earlier to class, but I was now wearing a blue short sleeved button-down shirt that went down to the top of my jeans. I also had one of the black mini-aprons tied around my hips, holding my notepad, a couple pens, and straws for drinks. It read 'Jack's Diner' a cross in red, cursive stitching. My hair was pulled back into a ponytail, which had dried into its usual long waves with my bangs swooped to the side, framing my face. Before work, I was able to freshen myself up, adding a little more makeup then just the coverup and eyeliner I had put on earlier, but still kept it very natural.

As promised, Camille showed up for lunch, but didn't stay for long. She sat at the bar counter, happily eating whatever salad she had ordered. I was able to talk to her for a couple minutes in between tables and orders, but then was ordered back to work by either one of my coworkers or the hostess of the afternoon.

I went to the soda fountain behind the counter, dumping the melting ice that was in the glass before refilling it with fresh ice cubes.

"Jo," Lori, the hostess, called from her stand at the front of the restaurant. She was sixteen years old, a sophomore at the high school not too far from here. Unfortunately, she could wear whatever she wanted while the other waiters and I had to wear the blue button-down shirts and aprons and name tags. We could decorate the nametags, though. Like the cashiers at Panera Bread. Mine had my name written with a purple sharpie, outlined with black squiggly lines and dots. Done by, of course, yours truly. "Table 10, when you get the chance," she continued.

"Okay," I called back, placing the glass under the faucet thing that had the Sprite logo across it. I brought the refilled glass back to the table with the young family, being sure to give the gentleman a new straw before I left.

I turned and walked to another booth that was along the same wall. There I noticed something that only fans would have dreamed about.

Sitting there, menus at hand as they laughed at whatever they were talking about, were all four guys of Big Time Rush. Two of them sat on each side of the table, Kendall, I noticed, sitting closer to the wall next to the tallest of the guys. James, I think his name was. Kendall was still wearing the beanie he was in earlier, but had changed since I last saw him. He was now wearing red plaid shirt with the top few buttons unbuttoned, revealing a white t-shirt underneath. The other guys were all dressed casually as well.

I took in a deep breath and straightened my shirt again before making my way over to the booth. I heard the Latino of the group speak as the guys' laughter died down. I couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but it got them laughing again.

I reached the table a couple short seconds later. "Hello, I'm Jo and I'll be your waitress this afternoon," I stated as I normally did when I reached a table.

At the mention of my name, I noticed Kendall's head shoot right back at my direction. That probably made my already present smile a little wider.

"Hello," the fourth guy I recognized as Logan said politely, smiling back up at me. Man, Camille was going to kill me once I told her.

"Hi," I replied back to him, then turned my attention back to Kendall. "I see we meet again, Kendall," I said in a playful tone.

He smiled politely back. "Indeed, we do," he replied.

The guy I thought was James spoke up next. "You guys know each other?" he asked, waving a finger to both of us.

"Sorta," Kendall replied, not taking his gaze off of me.

"I kind of bumped into him this morning and spilled coffee on him," I explained to the other band members. "And again, I'm really sorry about that," I said to him.

"It's okay, stop apologizing," he chuckled at me.

I felt my face turn hot as I looked down. "Right, sorry," I said with a smile, snatching my notepad out of my pocket. I then mentally kicked myself again that day. Didn't he say he hated when people overused the word "sorry?" Why was I still apologizing? Right, because I was an idiot. "So, can I get you guys some drinks?"

I took down their drink orders and went back to the soda fountain behind the bar counter. I filled their orders, and then left them for another couple of minutes to scan the menu.

"Jo, Table 7," I heard Lori say a short moment later.

I grabbed my notepad, which sat on the counter in front of me, as I stood up from the bar stool I was currently sitting at. "And you're sending everyone to me because…?" I asked, trailing off to let her fill the blank.

"Because you're the friendliest waitress ever, and I know you won't get as mad at me as Tyler would?" she question, putting on an innocent smile. I rolled my eyes as she let out a victorious laugh. Hmph.

I went to a small table in the middle of the dining room, noticing two middle-aged men sitting at the table I was to serve. "Hello, I'm Jo, and I'll be your waitress this afternoon," I said for probably the fiftieth time that day. They each greeted me back before I asked them for their drink orders.

"Uh yeah, I'll have a scotch on the rocks," one of the guys replied, a smirk playing on his lips and a hopeful look in his eyes.

I smirked back, putting both hands on my hips. "Now sir, you know we don't serve that here," I said in a mock-stern voice, ending with a laugh.

"I know. Worth a shot anyway, right?" he asked, laughing a little as well.

"Why not?" I replied, shrugging my shoulders and giggling. He ended up ordering a black coffee while his friend ordered a Coke. After another short banter with the gentlemen, talking about some basketball game coming up, I went back over to the young family, who were about halfway done with their meal.

The parents were laughing as I came up to them. "I take it everything's good over here?" I questioned them.

"Yes, everything's great," the gentleman replied.

I knelt down next to the high chair again, seeing the little girl play with the small order of Cheerios her parents had asked for. I don't think they even qualified as a meal, or something that would even be charged on the final bill. "And how's this little cutie doing?" I asked her in the same excited tone I had talked to her in earlier.

"S'real!" she squealed as the three of us laughed.

"So she's not happy with her food?" I asked her parents playfully.

"Oh yeah, she hates it," the mother replied, playing along. Now these were my kind of people – sarcastic, like me!

I giggled and stood back up. "Alright, I have to get back to my other tables. Feel free to holler if you need anything," I reassured them.

They thanked me as I smiled back before walking back to Big Time Rush's table, who seemed to be in some sort of conversation, and then were laughing hard again as I reached the table. Were they always like this?

"Alright, are you guys ready to order?" I asked them, interrupting their banter.

"Yeah, I think we're ready," Kendall replied for all four of them.

Carlos spoke up next. "I'll have the Corn Dogs off he kids' menu," he responded, earning a snort from each of the guys.

"Seriously, man?" James asked him. I smiled, shaking my hand as I wrote down the order.

"Come on, I haven't had a corn dog since we left LA. Do you realize how long it's been?" he questioned the guys.

"Even then, the ones you and my mom make are the frozen ones that taste like crap," Kendall replied.

"Actually," I decided to but in. All four guys directed their attention to me. Great. "Everyone who does order the corn dogs say that they're the best they've eaten. And they're homemade, not the 'crappy frozen ones,'" I said with air quotes.

"Ha!" Carlos mocked, pointing at Kendall and James on the other side of the booth. They each ignored him, either shaking their heads or turning back to the menu. Logan did the same.

"Now, we also offer paper and crayons with any kids' menu option…" I trailed off, putting a playful smile on my face as I waited for his answer.

The other guys laughed before Carlos responded, "Nope, just the corn dogs."

I shook my head and took the other guys' orders. They all ordered typical guy things, some type of burger or sandwich, each with a side of French fries or tots. I went into the kitchen, tearing out the page and hanging it on the rack where orders are placed, and then went to fill out the two guys' drink orders.

When I got back from their table and gave their orders to the chef, I snatched my cell phone out of my pocket, immediately deciding to text Camille. She was in class right now, but would still be able to get it in a couple hours.

_You'll never guess who's sitting at one of my tables :D  
-Jo_

The rest of the hour went great, or as great as it could get, I guess. Camille still hadn't texted me back yet, but I wasn't too surprised about that. Which reminds me, I have to get an autograph or picture or something from the guys. Otherwise, I wouldn't hear the end of it.

The young family left shortly after, packing their leftovers and making sure their daughter, whose name I found out later was Chloe, waved goodbye to me. Being the oh so nice person I am, I didn't charge them for the small amount of food for their daughter, which they seemed very happy and pleased with. Who wouldn't? It's free food.

When they left, I went back to check on my other two tables. I went back to the Big Time Rush table first, where the guys were still eating their food, discussing the concerts they were doing this weekend.

So, as usual, I went and checked up on them, seeing if they needed any refills on drinks and whatnot. "How's everything over here?" I asked. They all replied some form of good. "How about those corn dogs, Carlos?" I questioned the Latino, a teasing smile on my face.

"The best," he replied with a laugh.

I smirked. "You know that that paper and crayons offer is still open if you change your mind, right?"

"Just bring them over anyway," Kendall spoke up, earning a snicker out of all of us.

"Alright, besides that, do you guys need anything? Maybe a couple refills?" I suggested, gesturing to their now empty glasses. Luckily, they all did. More work for me, yay! I grabbed their glasses and refilled their drinks before returning to their table, again hearing them talk about their concerts and dress rehearsal.

"Alright, here you guys go," I said, handing the drinks to each respective guy.

"Hey, you go to school at NJU, right?" Kendall asked as I placed his Coke in front of him.

"Yeah..." I said a little questioningly. Where was this going, exactly?

"How many people from the school do you think will show up to our shows this weekend?" he continued to ask me.

A smirk appeared on my face. "Ah, so you're the boy band playing at our little theater..." I said, standing up straight again.

"Maybe," James said casually, shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't know, not as many as the high school and middle school kids that'll show up. My roommate and a couple of friends and I are going, though," I ended with a small smile.

"Oh, really?" Logan questioned.

"Which show?" Carlos asked me.

"Both, actually," I responded. "My roommate loves you guys, and she's in the theater almost everyday, so she managed to get some tickets for both of us."

"So you do know who we are," Kendall said in a playful accusing tone.

I smirked. "Don't be so full of yourself, Knight," I teased. The other guys oohed at him as he nodded in my direction.

"Touche," he responded. I smiled widely back. Remember when I couldn't come up with a good comeback earlier that morning? Yeah, my witty mind was back, whoo-hoo!

"I'll check back up on you guys in a bit," I said before walking to the two midle-aged gentlemen, having another fun banter with them. Both guys were flirting with me, jokingly of course. At least I think they were. They both had wedding bands on their fingers. I played along with each of them, hissing and oohing at some of their remarks, and adding my own witty comebacks. The guy who had asked me for the scotch had asked (rather loudly, too) which one of the guys I was flirting with while at Big Time Rush's table.

I laughed. "You know, I'm not so sure. All of them are so good looking..." I said, somewhat hoping they heard me even the slightest bit. The dining room was quiet, save for my two tables and a couple others that were filled and being waited on.

James did, at least. "Admit it, you're totally crushing on me," he called cockily from behind.

I turned around, smirking. "Eh, I've seen better," I responded a second later. He sqealed a second later. No fucking joke - a guy in his late teens, early twenties (however old he was) squealed in shock. That totally made my day.

"Of course she wasn't, dude," Logan said to James. "She was totally flirting with me."

"You know, I would have, but my roommate would have to kill me the second I get back," I replied. "Right now it's kind of a tie between Kendall and Carlos," I added playfully.

"Yes!" they both exclaimed, high-fiving one another. James sat back and crossed his arms, a visible pout on his chiseled, pretty-boy face. He was hot - definitely the heartthrob of the group. Logan didn't look dismayed, though. Ouch, meanie. This was good, I hoped. Over the last hour, half hour, how ever long the guys had been here, I kind of grew to like Kendall more. I had been joking around with all for of the guys, really. They all seemed so genuine and nice, and had made me laugh throughout their time here. But Kendall, I don't know, there was something about him that intrigued me a little more than with the other guys. He was definitely the cutest, despite how much Camille gushed over Logan. Kendall had teased me throughout the guys' time here, and I played along, of course. So not only was he good looking, but he was sarcastic and seemed like a fun person to be around. Something that I had always looked for in a guy.

I turned back to the two guys in front of me. "So, do you guys need any boxes, or are you still picking at your food?" I questioned.

"Yeah, I think we'll each need one," scotch-guy's friend answered.

"And the check, when you get the chance," scotch-guy added.

"Alright, be right back," I smiled, walking back to the bar counter. There were a couple people sitting there, drinking coffee or hot chocolate with either a bowl of soup or some desert sitting in front of them. I grabbed a couple boxes from underneath, grabbing the guys' orders from the small pile one of the chefs left. I added their totals up and turned the slip of paper over, righting a large 'Thank you' in my neat handwriting, drawing a smiley face underneath. My personal little signature. As me and one of my best friends back home used to say, smiley faces make the world go 'round.

As I walked back over to the table, I decided to glance over at the band's table. James, Logan, and Carlos, seemed to be in some sort of discussion. It sounded like it was over hockey. I heard one of them mention "Minnesota Wild" and "NHL." Kendall, though, had his head directed away from his friends, looking right up at me. I smiled sweetly back as I made my way over to the table.

"Alright boys, here you go. Just bring that up to Jenny at the register when you get the chance," I told them, placing their check upside down on top of the boxes.

They each thanked me for their late lunch, and I responded that it was no problem and to come again before I turned to walk away. "There better be scotch the next time I come and eat here," scotch-guy called as I started walking away.

"We'll see," I called back happily, turning my head to face him. I heard him chuckle as I glanced back to my only table left. Sure enough, Kendall was still looking at me. I nodded in his direction with a smile. I always tried to smile at a person when I caught their eye. Whether it was on my way to class, or just walking past their table when I was working. Normally, it was a closed lip, polite smile. But for Kendall, I gave him an open, sweet one, something I rarely did. He smiled back, turning his direction back to his friends to join their hockey conversation.

So, I ended up having an eventful day at work after all.

* * *

**What do you guys think? I'm not too crazy about the ending, but it's descent, and flows with the story.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed this, and wish me luck on finishing my memoir thing for Creative Writing. Review, please?**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	3. Chapter 3

**I am beyond excited right now, you wanna know why? No? Well, I'm gonna tell you anyway. My original plan was to post this tomorrow night, after I handed in my memoir's rough draft today. However, because we had a snow day last week (and possibly one coming up this week), the due date was pushed back to Friday :) That means I had time to give you guys an update! :D**

**Alright, I'll keep this little beginning Author's Note short. Be sure to go and read "Coffee Break" by tawniee, Miss Fenway's stories, and anything else I have suggested to you this week. Happy Reading! :D**

**Disclaimer**: Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. I do not own any of the songs I mention. Nor do I own the title - those rights belong to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

* * *

I walked into my dorm room later that night, just as the dinner rush would be starting at Jack's. Camille was sitting on her bed with her knees pulled to her chest, a bottle of silver nail polish in her hands and those toe-separater things on each of her feet. "Hey," I replied, closing the door behind me.

"You!" she said accusingly as I set my stuff down on my bed. She slid her legs over the side of her own bed setting the nail polish on the large nightstand table we shared. "How the fuck did freaking Big Time Rush come to your diner, and you don't fucking tell me until they're gone!" she continued to yell at me. She curses a lot when she's mad. Could ya tell?

I laughed, taking a seat on my bed. "Don't you laugh at me. Spill!" she demanded.

Just as the guys had finished eating, I had asked them if they would do a quick video message that I could send Camille. They happily agreed to, and we filmed a quick ten-second long video of them saying hi and that they can't wait to see her tomorrow night. They left a good ten or fifteen minutes later, and then I text messaged the video to her, knowing she'd be out of class then. If they were still there and she received the message, well… let's just say things wouldn't look pretty.

"Nothing happened," I started. "They came, they sat at one of my tables, they ordered, they ate, we talked, and they left. Simple as that," I explained to her. What? It was true.

"Whatever! That doesn't give you the right to not fucking call me up and let me know!" she continued to fight.

"I texted you! And you were in class!" I fought back with a smirk, taking my tan colored boots off my feet.

"So? Call me up, pull me out of class, do something!" she exclaimed.

"I got them to make a video saying 'hi' to you, Camille…" I said, my tone laced with innocence. Maybe that would get me off the hook?

She pouted in defeat. Victory! "Whatever…" she said again, still pouting. She brought her feet back up on the bed and continued with her pedicure. I laughed again, setting my Uggs to the side and going towards our closet. Our very small closet. The downside to college life. I unbuttoned my shirt and hung it back on its hanger, putting back on the camisole and sweater I had on that morning.

"Hey, you wanna go out to dinner or something?" I asked Camille, kneeling down to where we set our shoes. "Maybe get some pizza with Amber and the guys?" I suggested, finding a pair of gray and black ballet flats I owned.

"Sounds good, I'll text Amber and Will in a minute and see what they think," Camille answered. Amber is a good friend of ours. Her dorm is a few doors down from ours. She was majoring in marine biology. She met her current boyfriend, Will, in one of her classes in September, and they've been inseparable ever since.

I nodded. "Cool," I responded, slipping my shoes on and going back to my bed. I reached to one of the shelves on our nightstand, reaching for a magazine. We had a huge selection - hundreds even - seperated into different piles. One for each magazine: Seventeen, Teen Vogue, Nylon, Elle, Cosmo Girl, and a small pile off to the side, containing the teen-gossip magazines Camille would buy at drugstores for her Big Time Rush posters. After today's events, I decided to reach for one of the latter. What? After meeting them, I wanted to learn a little bit more about the guys.

Of course, there was a large picture of Justin Bieber plastered across the front, with smaller shots of Selena Gomez, Taylor Lautner, and other stars alike surrounding him. Underneath a shot of Miley Cyrus were all four guys of Big Time Rush. They were kneeling down and smiling for the camera, each in an outfit that was a little more dressed up than what they wore today. There was a caption underneath in bright blue letters that read "What the BTR guys like in a girl!"

So, I flipped to the table of contents and searched for the page. Maybe I could learn a little bit more about Kendall? Okay, now I'm becoming obsessed.

I continued to flip through the magazine for another quick moment, seeing even more pictures of the guys. There was a paparazzi shot of Carlos with his rumored girlfriend, horror movie star Stephanie King, a picture of James next to one of the results of a Valentine's Day quiz, and a couple additional photos and speech bubbles that pertained to whatever the article was about.

I finally reached the page I had been looking for. The title of the article was the same as it read on the cover, but in red rather than light blue. There were four separate pictures, one of each singer, each with a mini interview next to the coordinating picture. Knowing me, where would my eyes go to first? Yup, Kendall Knight's picture and interview.

_**What's the first thing you notice in a girl?  
**__Their smile, and if they can just be themselves. I love it when a girl can carry on a fun conversation about something random._

_**What would be your ideal first date?  
**__Something casual; maybe going out to dinner and then seeing if a good band is playing near by._

_**Blondes or brunettes?  
**__Both._

_**What's probably the biggest turn off for you?  
**__Probably when a girl – or anyone, really – says sorry for something that's not all that important. I feel like it's something sacred and shouldn't be taken lightly. It should be saved for when it is really needed._

"Alright, everyone's meeting us at CiCi's in twenty minutes," Camille said, interrupting me from my thoughts.

"Great, sounds fun," I replied, putting the magazine back on the shelf, getting up to join her.

She eyed me suspiciously. "What were you just reading?" she asked in an accusing tone.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Nothing," I answered.

"Joanna," she said sternly, her arms now folded across her chest. Damn, I hated the full-first-name thing.

I sighed, picking the magazine back up and showing her. "You would," Camille laughed, moving across our tiled floor to see exactly what I was looking at. She took it from my hand as I took my hair out of its ponytail. "Oh, now I know what you were looking at!" she said excitedly, putting the magazine on the shelf. "Which one are you eying on in particular?" she asked me.

"Neither," I responded, which was kind of true. I had thought about everything that happened today throughout my shift. Yeah, I thought Kendall was the hottest of the band, but that didn't mean I liked him, no. He was sweet, I'll give him that. Sure, I had been flirty with him all morning, but I refuse to fall for a celebrity. There's no way a relationship like that would work out. And besides, why would a guy like me in the first place? Me, Jo Taylor, a small town girl from North Carolina, who wanted to do nothing in her life but hang out with friends and concentrate on her studies. For now, at least. I'm only eighteen, I don't need a serious relationship. Plus, I've had the worst experience in that department.

She laughed a little as she moved toward the coat rack in our room. "C'mon, everyone's waiting for us."

* * *

"Next!" a young Starbucks cashier called the next morning. The long line of people in front of me slowly shuffled forward, bringing me one step closer to my beloved coffee. It was Friday now, about nine-thirty in the morning, it was cold outside, and I had to be at work again in a couple hours. Plus, it was cold outside. Did I mention that yet? I hated the cold, and it was one of the things I missed most about North Carolina. The winters were generally warmer, ranging somewhere in the fifties down by my hometown. The high today was expected to be twenty-five degrees. Twenty-fucking-five! Plus, in North Carolina, there would be maybe one or two snow flurries a year, but nothing like the few snowstorms we had up here in Jersey. However, there was one that just passed through the south a few weeks ago. It was bad. My mom sent me pictures. They must have gotten like, six inches from that storm. That's more than all the snow I've seen in my lifetime combined!

Because of the brisk, cold weather, I found myself dressing warmer this year. Like today. I was wearing a white sweater with a purple scarf wrapped around my neck. I normally hated them, especially when I was younger, and had no idea why they were so popular in fashion in the last year or so. But this one looked nice, made of a thinner material, so I liked it. Over that, I had my black winter jacket, and a pair of gray knit gloves that I had stuffed in my purse for the time being. I also had on a pair of faded skinny jeans and my Uggs. I had some makeup on as well, but kept it natural, like I did yesterday for work.

The line continued to move for the next five minutes. Slowly, but it was moving. I didn't have class on Fridays, so there wasn't any reason for me to get out of here quickly. My shift at Jack's didn't start for another few hours, and I was leaving early then to freshen up and get ready for the Big Time Rush concert that night. In the meantime, I was playing a game on my phone and text messaging my friend that had texted me yesterday, when I ran into Kendall and spilled coffee on his shirt. Mmm, coffee... why won't this line move up any faster? I need my damn coffee!

"Next!" the cashier called again a couple minutes later, my turn up in line.

"Hi," I said politely, walking up to the counter. "I'll have a tall pumpkin spice latte with nonfat milk and whipped cream, and can you drizzle some chocolate syrup on top of that?" I questioned, digging through my bag for my wallet as she wrote the order down on a cup. I was happy now. This was a treat for me. I rarely got sweet drinks like this at Starbucks. Whether it was that time of month for me or not, I didn't know, but I wanted something sweet, and the pumpkin spice latte is my favorite thing to get this time of year.

"Next!" a cashier next to us called.

The cashier in front of me rung me up, giving my order to a barista standing close by to her.

"Oh my God! You're- you're-" the second cashier exclaimed. I turned to my left to look at her, seeing a shocked look on her face and her finger pinting at the person in front of her. I heard the person she was ringing up laugh a little, hough it sounded like an uncomfortable, awkward laugh. Like when you're nervous or when there's an awkward silence between you and a person, and you laugh to try and make it seemless awkward, and it never works? Well, at least for me it never worked. Wait, I knew that laugh-

"Yup," a male voice said. I finally turned and looked at the person, or persons, rather. Standing there were Carlos and Kendall, bundled up with jackets and scarves on their bodies to keep them warm. Their hands were stuffed in their pockets, but were peeking out enough for anyone to see they were wearng leather gloves. Or faux leather, I couldn't tell. Kendall was the one who laughed, I realized, as Carlos first responded to the starstruck teenager in front of them.

I let out a small chuckle, turning to the side and crossing my arms. "I swear to God, you're stalking me now," I told them, more directed towards Kendall then Carlos, obviously.

Both guys looked to see who they were supposedly stalking. As soon as they saw me, they both smiled a little. "Hey," Carlos said with a wave. Kendall repeated his actions.

"Hi," I smiled back, turning back to my cashier to recieve my change.

"You guys know each other?" their cashier asked rather loudly, pointng at all three of us. Second time in the last twenty-four hours. People were probably staring at us at this point. Awesome, just what I needed today.

"Somewhat," Kendall answered for all three of us, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. I could tell that he didn't want to deal with something like this right now. Whether he and Carlos had to be someplace, or he just wasn't in the mood to deal with crazy fans, or what, he didn't look too happy. Of course, the girl behind the counter couldn't tell.

"Oh my gosh, I have all of your albums, and I've been to like, ten of your concerts, and I can't believe you guys are here right now," she started to ramble excitedly. "This is so- yeah, um, anyway, can I take your order?" she said, quickly collecting her cool as she put her hand on a pile of cups next to her and picked up a black sharpie.

My cashier chuckled at her co-worker. "Smooth, Jill, smooth. Next!" she called to the line behind me, a man in a business suit appearing in my previous spot.

Jill ducked her head and blushed. "Yeah, anyway, that order?" she questioned to the guys. Carlos stepped up and started ordering his drink, Kendall stepping around him to- wait, Kendall was coming up to me? What was going on here?

"Sorry about that," he apologized, his voice soft so Jill wouldn't be able to hear him.

I shook my head at him. "It's fine," I reassured him. I then turned my head briedly to see the ever growing line by the pick-up station of the coffee house. "I actually have to go wait for my coffee right now, but I'll see you later?" I questioned, ending with a smile. Wait, how did that come out of my mouth? I must have been on auto-pilot. It was purely coincidence that the two of us met three times in the last twenty-four hours. He was a celebrity, I was a college student. There was no way I was flirting with Kendall again, right?

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess we'll see you in another minute," he said, turning to look at Carlos and Jill. It seemed like she was trying to carry a conversation with him, much to the dismay of the other customers behind us. "Or ten," Kendall added with a chuckled, turning back to face me.

I smiled back. "Good luck," I said before turning and cutting through the line back to the pick-up station. It wasn't as crowded as the area where the lines were, but wasn't empty, either. I figured it'd be a while before my latte was done. So, again, I leaned against a wall and played a game on my phone as I waited for my name to be called.

About two minutes later, Kendall and Carlos joined me. Seriously. They literally came up to me, greeted me once again, and talked to me for a couple minues as we waited. I had to admit, it was a pretty good conversation. I asked about James and Logan at first, to which they responded that they were at a local radio station doing an interview. Why were they here, then? They decided to wander around the small town and see if there was something to do, so they decided to stop in for a cup of coffee and hang out here for a bit before going back to their hotel, or meeting the guys at the theater at school for sound check. I can't remember which. But the rest of our talk consisted of phone games and apps (mostly Angry Birds), music, their show, etcetera. They even asked about school a little bit. Not much, just what I was studying and how hard my classes were. And they asked about Camille and her reaction to the video we made.

Five minutes later, mine and Carlos' names and drinks were called. We each went up and grabbed them, thanking the barista before returning back to Kendall. Just as we did, Carlos' cell phone rang. He grabbed it out of his pocket and checked the Caller ID, a frown on his face.

"I'm sorry, I really have to take this," he said to both of us.

"Who is it?" Kendall asked.

"My mom," Carlos replied. His mom?

"Go, dude. Take your time," Kendall said, a tone of reassurance in his voice.

"Thanks," Carlos said graciously to Kendall, almost as if he was relieved. Geez, I hope nothing too bad is going on...

"See you soon," I said as he turned away and walked to the coffee shop's main entrance, finally taking a sip of my hot coffee through its straw. Mm, just what I needed. I had woken up over almost two hours ago, and hadn't had any coffee all morning. I can't even explain the withdrawal I went through those two hours. Wait, did I just say I'd see _Carlos_ soon too now? Well, I guess that was true. I was seeing them perform tonight, so I would see all four of them sometime tonight. That isn't so bad.

Kendall turned back to me to continue our conversation. However, my curiosity got the best of me. "Is everything okay?" I asked, then instantly regretted it. I mean, I don't think it's a totally bad question to ask, but also, any family issues weren't my business. Carlos was in the public eye, and I imagine he wanted to keep his private life, well, private. Who wouldn't? The last thing he'd probably want was for some stranger to know what was going on. That is, if it was a family issue. He did say it was his mom calling him, right? "I mean, he looked kind of upset when he saw who was calling him," I said. Yeah, that works. That's a descent cover.

Kendall chuckled. Meanie. "Uh... things aren't going so great with his dad right now," he answered. I nodded my head and mouthed an 'oh,' deciding to leave it at that. But of course, my mouth had a mind of its own.

"He's not like, sick or anything, is he?" I questioned. What was that one quote - "Curiosity killed the cat," or something? Why wouldn't I just shut up and talk about their show tonight, or anything else besides this?

"Kendall, venti cappuccino with whole milk?" a barista called. Thank God!

"One sec," Kendall said before walking up and getting his drink. He returned a moment later, going to the small table-like thing next to us that contained the sugar and spices and everything nice. Ha ha! Oh come on, it was right there!

"Are you sticking around?" he questioned, grabbing a few packets of sugar and going to open them.

"I might," I said, shrugging my shoulders and taking a second sip of my coffee.

He turned his head to me again. "You wanna just sit and talk for a few minutes?" he suggested. "Carlos will probably be out there for a while, and I don't want to really intrude on his and his mom's conversation," he explained.

I felt my lips curve into a smile. "Sure," I said. This shouldn't be anything bad, just a conversation with a cute guy. As friends, nothing more. See, I wasn't breaking my newly set rules.

"Cool, come on," he said, throwing the sugar packet wrappers away and motioning me to follow him to a nearby table.

* * *

**Dunh, dunh, duunnnhhh! Haha, next chapter is their conversation. Don't worry nothing too bad is going on with Carlos' dad. Well, it's bad, but not _too_ bad, you know? Eh, you'll see next chapter.**

**As for the magazine article, I looked through my old issues of Tiger Beat magazine from a three, four years ago (I'm a magazine hoarder), and stole the idea from an old Jonas Brothers interview. Then I went onto the website to see who was on the covers this year and then went onto and looked through something similar in the magazine ad section. I think I stole Carlos's answers rather than Kendalls :P But whatever, it works!**

**Alright, leave a review and i'll update soon :D**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	4. Chapter 4

**OMG, this is probably the longest chapter i've written. Really, when i finished it, it was nearly 5,000 words. My other chapters have been around 2,000 (save for the mini AN's i've put up) But i'm happy it's this long. You learn more about Kendall and Jo, and see them interact with each other in a nice, casual way.**

**So, i'll shut up now and let you guys read. Please read surfergal23's new story, "Memories Of A Lifetime." It's mostly smutty/fluffy oneshots of Kendall and Jo, but they're really sweet, and i find myself smiling everytime I read them :D So go check it out, but not until you read and review this story. Haha, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer**: Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. All songs I mention belong to their rightful owners. All title rights go to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

* * *

"So, you never did answer my question," I told Kendall, setting my coffee down on the table he had selected.

"About Carlos?" he asked, removing his jacket and scarf, placing it over the back of his chair, revealing the green plaid shirt he was wearing underneath. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and when he took his gloves off, I saw that he had a set of bracelets on each arm. Some kind of looked like those friendship bracelets you'd make out of string when you were younger, and the rest were just cord bracelets.

I sat down in my own seat, my jacket hanging off the back of the chair. "Yeah… unless that's too personal. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. I mean, I imagine you don't wanna tell a complete stranger what's going on in your lives, and I don't blame you. I wouldn't want to go up to someone random on the street and tell them about my personal problems, so why would you- I'm rambling now, aren't I?" I asked, embarrassed, feeling a blush stain my cheeks. I hate that.

He laughed and nodded. "Sorta…" he replied. Wonderful.

I let out a sheepish laugh, ducking my head and hiding it in my hands. "Ugh, I'm sorry. I'm normally not this weird, I swear," I promised, picking my head back up.

Kendall chucked. "It's okay, really. And it's not all _that_ personal, if you think about it. Carlos even went to Twitter last week and told everyone what's going on," he explained.

I picked up my coffee to take a sip. "I don't go on Twitter a lot," I said, shaking my head.

"You don't?" he asked.

"Not really," I replied, setting my drink down. "I mean, I have an account, but I only go on like, once a month. And even then, the only celebrities I'm following are the guys from _The Buried Life_, if you'd consider them celebrities," I told him. Which was true – I was following all four of the guys' personal accounts, their show's official Twitter, and even their bus's Twitter! And, get this, the bus was following me back, even though I hadn't posted anything on their in months!

"So you haven't seen Carlos' page, or any of our pages for that matter?" he asked as he went to grab his coffee.

"No…" I said sheepishly.

He set his coffee down after taking a sip. "Alrighty then," he started. "Well, Carlos' dad is a police chief back in Minnesota where we grew up. And one night last week, he was on duty and he suspected someone of drunk driving, so he pulled the guy over like any other officer, right?" he began to explain.

I nodded. "Right," I answered, taking another sip of my coffee.

"Right. So, he goes up to the car and does the whole 'Have you been drinking?' thing, and the driver just lashes out at him and starts going on this drunken rampage," Kendall continued.

"As any drunk driver would do," I said casually.

"Yeah, no big deal or anything," he agreed sarcastically, a smirk playing on his lips. Alright, good, he can be sarcastic. I'm liking this guy more and more. God, what is wrong with me? I giggled back, setting my drink down on the table. Since when do I giggle? I swear, this guy is ruining me right now.

Kendall continued his story. "So, the driver starts fighting with Carlos' dad, and a couple of minutes later," he said, a painful look appearing on his face. I had a feeling I knew where this was going. "The driver pulled a gun out of his glove compartment, and just…" he trailed off, ending with a hand gesture of someone shooting the said gun.

"Oh, God," I said, sitting back in my chair. "How bad?" I heard myself ask.

"Two shots in the shoulder, thankfully," he answered. Um, thankfully? Elaborate, please. How are two bullets in someone's shoulder a good thing? "When we went to see him in the hospital last week, he said that the driver was aiming at his chest, and he tried to jump out of the way, but wasn't completely fast enough to get out of the line of gunfire," he explained. Oh, that explains it. That is a good thing, then. He sighed. "I don't even want to think about what happened if he didn't jump in time…" Kendall trailed off again, his face dropping.

I looked down, trying to think of something to say. Then, something cliqued in my head. It was one of the earlier season finales of _Grey's Anatomy_. It was the one where Izzie cut Denny's LVAD wire to get him at the top of the heart donor list, and when Burke was returning to the hospital, some guy came out and shot him in the shoulder. The first like, ten episodes of the next season revolved around his ability to use his arm, how he handled his newly developed hand tremor, and whether or not he'd be able to operate again. All the medical situations on the show were realistic, too. What if what happened to Burke would happen to Carlos' dad? Or was happening to him right now?

"How's his arm?" I asked a couple seconds later. "He's not paralyzed or anything, is he?"

He shook his head. "No," he said with a chuckle. I didn't know if it was at my question or what, but I kind of figured it was directed toward that. Jerk. "But there was enough nerve damage to cause a tremor on one of his hands. You know, like… do you watch _Grey's Anatomy_, by any chance?" he asked me.

I smiled. Like I said, I'm liking this guy more and more. "A big fan," I replied.

"So, you know what happened to that Burke guy, right? When he was shot, he developed the tremor and he had to have Christina in the O.R. with him to take over his surgeries just in case he had another muscle spasm?" he explained. I nodded in response. "Yeah, that's what's wrong with him," he told me.

"You know, I've never met a guy who had the balls to actually watch and follow a show like that," I commented. "I like that, though," I added, making sure he knew I didn't mean it in a bad way.

He smirked. "It's James' fault. One of his first girlfriends was obsessed with the show, so he started watching it with her. And pretty soon, he got the rest of us hooked on it, too," he explained to me. Why did that not surprise me? After all, James did shriek rather loudly in the middle of the diner yesterday.

"Are you really close with him?" I heard myself ask. "Carlos' dad, I mean," I added.

"Extremely," he answered. "We all are, I guess. But he and I… he became like a second dad to me after my parents divorced," he said. I was curious as to what he meant by that, but decided to leave it. This is already getting way too personal as it is. And we just met twenty-four hours ago.

Kendall and I stayed in silence for a few more seconds. It wasn't awkward or anything though. It was surprisingly comfortable. And strangely, I liked it. That was, until he took in a sharp breath and covered his face with his hands. He closed his eyes tightly, and then rested his forehead in both of his hands as he spoke. "I swear, the look on Carlos' face when his mom called us up that night, and when he told us what had happened…" he said, sounding like he wanted to cry.

"Don't," I stated, reaching over to grab one of his hands and pulling it down to the table. It was just as warm as it was yesterday, I noticed. "You're getting upset, now. I shouldn't have asked you to tell me in the first place," I said in an apologetic tone.

"It's fine," he reassured me, removing his other hand from his face and locking eyes with me. They looked so full of emotion and sadness, I wanted to walk around the table and give him a big hug. What? By me giving him a hug doesn't mean I'm falling for him. It just means I'm sentimental and want him to cheer up, like any friend would. Because that's all we were right now, just friends, tops. "The fans know, and you wanted to know, too," he added.

"Still, it's making you so sad and everything," I argued in a sympathetic tone.

I saw the slightest of smiles appear on his face before he gazed back down at the table. I smiled back.

Then I realized what I had just done.

I looked down to see that I was holding his hand. And even worse, I was stroking it with my thumb in an effort to comfort him. It felt right, though. No, I wasn't supposed to think that. Bad, Jo! I quickly snatched my hand away and sat back, letting out a nervous chuckle as we met each other's eyes again. They really were beautiful, and were probably the brightest shade of green I'd seen, being brought out by the green in his shirt. I liked guys with green eyes – it's unique. "I'm sorry," I apologized with a small laugh, leaning back against my chair.

He sat back in his own chair, crossing his arms over his chest and arching one of his thick, dark eyebrows. "You do realize that you say 'sorry' way too much right?" he questioned, a smirk in his tone. Yay, he wasn't so sad anymore.

I smiled seeing his mood pick up. "I'm working on it, I promise," I told him.

He leaned forward now, his elbows resting on the table. "Good. Now, why don't you tell me a little about yourself," he suggested.

"Well, what do you want to know?" I asked. Was I flirting with this guy? With _thee_ Kendall Knight? It sounded like it, and I didn't like that one bit. But I couldn't tear myself away from the conversation. It was kind of nice, in a way.

"You tell me," he responded.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know where to start," I played along.

"Well, you said you were studying to be a teacher. What grade are you planning to work with?" he asked curiously, picking up his coffee cup as he waited for my answer.

I smiled. "Well, my major is Early Childhood Education, so I'll probably end up working at a preschool or day care center when I graduate. Maybe at an elementary school too, if I'm lucky," I replied.

"So, you like working with younger kids?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess. My parents and everyone else I know have always said that I interact with toddlers and little kids very well, and they said I'd make a good teacher or nanny or something one day when I was older," I responded. "I babysat a lot for my neighbors back home, and I was heavily involved in the mentoring programs at my high school. I loved it so much that I figured I'd go into teaching," I continued.

He nodded. "You know, I kinda have to agree with everyone when I say that you are good with kids," he told me.

I was sipping at my coffee as he spoke, and nearly choked on it when he said what he did. "And you would know that because…?" I asked.

He laughed. "I'm sorry. I sound like a stalker now, don't I?" he questioned.

"Oh no, no, not at all," I replied sarcastically.

"Zip it," he mock warned me. I giggled again. Something is seriously wrong with me, now, I swear. I blame Kendall.

"Well, I saw you yesterday interact with that family at the diner. You were joking around with that baby whenever you went to check up on them, and she laughed every time you came over and started talking with her," he explained.

"Oh, that," I said, remembering yesterday's events at Jack's.

"Yup," he answered awkwardly a second later.

I smiled at him, and then went to look at his wrists. "So, what's with all the bracelets on your arms?" I asked him.

He smirked, holding one of his arms up and examining it. "What? You don't like them?" he asked jokingly.

"Well, I've never seen a guy wear a pink and yellow friendship bracelet on their wrist," I answered in a playful tone.

He smiled. "The fans give us bracelets at meet-and-greets and whatnot. Some are leather cord bracelets, and others are handmade like this," he said, pulling on the pink and yellow string bracelet I was referring to earlier, tied and looped into the Chinese staircase pattern I had learned to do in summer camp when I was younger. "We've even traded silly bands with them on occasion," he added.

"That's cool," I said. "I bet all your younger fans really love that," I informed him.

He laughed a little. "Yeah, I think they do, especially those kids that wear like, thirty different ones on each arm," he responded.

We continued chatting randomly like that for another minute or two. It was really nice, and nothing like I expected. There weren't any awkward gaps in the conversation. And even when we were silent for that short moment a while ago, it was comfortable. Almost like we knew what was going through each other's mind at that moment. I thought that the whole comfortable silence thing with two people happened in books and movies? I guess I was wrong.

The atmosphere in the coffee shop changed a bit, too. New customers had walked in, and since it was so late in the morning, there weren't as many people standing around or sitting down, so it wasn't as crowded anymore. We could still hear blenders going off and different drink orders get called by baristas, but it wasn't as loud in here as it was when I first walked in that morning.

"I wonder how Carlos is doing out there," I randomly announced. We had just finished talking about music, what our favorite artists and bands were, etcetera. I answered Bruno Mars, he answered John Mayer and Taking Back Sunday. We even went off on a rant about The Summer Set, one of my favorite bands. They were even in talks of touring with Big Time Rush over the summer! Now that was a concert I'd definitely go to.

We both looked out a nearby window to see Carlos deep in conversation with his mother on the phone. A smile etched across his face, brightening his Latin American features. He still had his coffee clutched in a gloved hand, and saw him take a sip out of it as the person on the other end was speaking. Though, it didn't seem like he'd be getting off the phone sometime soon.

"Seems like things are going good with him," Kendall commented, smiling as he turned back to me.

"How was his dad when you last heard about him?" I found myself asking him.

"Good," he said, still smiling. "Great, even. He's able to move his arm without a problem, but he still has that tremor in his hand." I nodded, drinking the last of the latte I ordered as he continued. "I think he's getting used to it now, and can do a couple everyday tasks. He even wrote out a shopping list for Carlos' mom the other day," he finished.

"That's great," I said happily.

"Yeah, it really is," he said, his face dropping again. I guessed he was thinking about everything that had happened to Mr. Garcia, a saddened expression present on his face. "God, we were all so scared that night when Nina called…" he trailed off.

"Nina?" I questioned.

"Carlos' mom," he answered. I mouthed 'oh' and sat back in my chair. He looked really upset again, just from thinking about that night.

"Why don't we change the subject to something a little more uplifting," I suggested, a warm smile making itself known on my face.

His eyes moved to lock with mine once again. God, it was so hard not to get lost in them. "Like what?" he asked.

"I don't know…" I trailed off, thinking of something that might cheer him up, but wasn't too personal. "Sports, maybe?" I suggested. His entire mood picked up, I noticed. "Ah ha, I figured that would get you," I said with a victorious smile.

"You guessed right," he responded. "My whole life revolved around hockey before Big Time Rush started," he informed me, leaning against the table, putting his weight on his elbows.

"Oh, really?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's how the guys and I first met. We were peewee hockey players in pre-K, and have been best friends ever since," he said.

"Do you still play?" I asked him.

He nodded his head. "Yeah, we do. Not as much as when we were back in Minnesota and played on our school's team, but whenever we get the chance, we'll grab our gear and hit up the closest ice rink," he told me.

"That's great," I said.

"What about you? Do you like hockey at all?" he asked, finishing the last of his coffee as well.

I sighed and looked down, a small grin spreading on my face. "Not really," I replied sheepishly.

He set his cup down and shook his head. "Terrible," he accused – jokingly, of course.

I playfully gasped, crumpling up an unused napkin that I had grabbed before sitting down. What? You never know if you're going to spill something while talking. I'm naturally klutzy, too, so you never know. Especially after running into Kendall yesterday on my way to class. I threw the napkin at him as he laughed, dodging the projectile. Again, jerk!

"Hey!" he laughed, picking the napkin off the carpeted floor, throwing it back at me.

"Hey," I repeated, giggling. It thankfully never hit me, but landed on the table next to my cup. "You can't throw stuff at me. I'm a girl," I fought.

"I know," he laughed. "That's why I didn't aim it directly at you. My mother did raise me to be a gentleman, after all," he added on.

"A proper gentleman wouldn't throw something in the first place," I argued, smiling.

"I have a right to throw something at you. You don't like hockey!" he exclaimed.

"Give me a break!" I exclaimed, chuckling. "I'm from North Carolina. We're known for NASCAR racing, not hockey," I continued to argue.

He arched an eyebrow again, still smiling. "North Carolina?" he asked, a slightly amused tone in his voice. Hey, there's nothing wrong with Carolinians!

"Yes. Got a problem with that?" I asked, smirking.

"No, no, nothing's wrong with it, I swear," he responded quickly, shaking his head for emphasis. I giggled at him again before he continued. What was with me and my damn giggling? I swear, I have to go see a laugh specialist or something soon. Are there laugh specialists? If not, there should be. I'll even be the first. "I'm just surprised," Kendall said. "You don't have a hint of an accent in your voice."

I smirked, clearing my throat a little and preparing my throat for the upcoming change in tone. "Well, I can talk like this if you want me to," I said sweetly, my voice sounding exactly like Rachel McAdams' character in _The Notebook_. That movie took place in the Carolinas. Or, maybe my voice sounded more like that girl in the new Butterfinger Snackers commercial? Eh, they both sounded the same to me.

He ducked his head and laughed a little. I smiled and laughed with him. "I may not originally be from there, but I can imitate the accent pretty well," I announced proudly.

"But didn't you just say that you're from North Carolina?" he asked.

I nodded. "I am, but I wasn't born there. I actually lived up here in Jersey until I was eight, and my dad got promoted at his job, and he was transferred down to Raleigh," I explained to him.

"So, you live in the same town as the Hurricanes?" he asked in a teasing tone.

"Shush," I said in a teasing, warning tone. The Carolina Hurricanes were a professional hockey team based in Raleigh. "We didn't even move to Raleigh. My family lives in Garner, just south of there," I informed him.

He nodded. "So why come to school all the way up here rather than your home state?" he asked curiously.

"Well, when I did some college research and whatnot my junior year, I learned that New Jersey had some of the best teaching programs in the country. I ended up applying to three schools up here, and one state school down in Raleigh, but NJU was my top choice. The second I got my acceptance letter, my parents sent in the deposit and I started registering for placement tests," I answered.

"Long distance from home," he commented with a small shrug of his shoulders.

I nodded. "Yeah, it is," I agreed sadly, looking down.

"Are you and your family close?" he asked a couple seconds later.

I looked up and flashed a smile at him. "Insanely," I responded. At this point, I could hear my little inner voice fight with me. Like on _Lizzie McGuire_, when the cartoon version of Lizzie would pop up and scream what was really on her mind. Yeah, the little cartoon version of Jo was jumping up and down and protesting for me to continue. I found myself telling him about my family anyway. "I live in a large, loud Italian family, so we're pretty close-knit and everything," I went on.

"Italian, huh?" he asked.

I nodded again. "Yeah, half Italian on my mom's side. My dad's English and Irish, which explains the last name," I told him.

"How many siblings?" he asked.

"Two brothers and two sisters," I answered. "I'm the second oldest out of all of us," I informed him.

I couldn't believe how easy it was for me to tell him all that. I just met the guy yesterday, he was practically a stranger to me, and I had just told him about my family and ethnic background. And, oddly enough, he didn't seem bored by it at all. I mean, the last thing _he_, of all people, would want to know about is some stranger's family. Unless he was an insanely good actor. The band _did_ guest star in an episode of _90210_ last season. What? It's one of my favorite shows. And it was a big thing when they were on. I swear, I saw about twenty commercials a day for that episode whenever I turned on The CW. They sang an acoustic version of their song "Stuck" that episode, playing at the beach club where everyone hung out. Kendall was strumming his guitar in the episode, I remembered. That version wasn't released on iTunes, sadly, but I did have the recorded album version on my iPod.

"Now, what's your family like?" I heard myself ask. Okay, if things weren't personal earlier about Carlos' dad, then this was getting pretty personal. I think. At least for him, it would be, right?

"What?" he asked, chuckling.

I smirked. "Oh, come on. It's only fair," I said in a teasing tone. "I told you about my family. You have to tell me about yours, now," I reasoned with him.

He sighed, trying to hide the smile on his face. I could see it, though, making me smile wider. "It's just my parents and little sister, Katie," he said. "My folks divorced when I was ten, and Katie was just a toddler," he added.

I nodded. "How old is she now?" I asked.

"Thirteen," he said.

"And that would make you…?"

"Twenty," he finished for me. "Twenty-one in November," he continued.

"So, that would make you a Scorpio, then, or Sagittarius?" I asked a few seconds later, thinking about what star sign went with the month of November. I was obsessed with horoscopes and such when I was in seventh grade. If you asked me, I could tell you almost anything about any star sign.

He chuckled at the question. "Scorpio, I think," he answered. "They just added that new star sign, so I'm not so sure anymore," he added with a slight laugh.

"Yeah, I know. But I think I read somewhere that that's only for people born in 2011 and onwards," I informed him.

Kendall nodded. "What about you? What's your star sign?" he asked me.

"Really? You wanna know?" I asked, slightly shocked. I had a right to be. Why would he want to continue learning stuff about me and my boring life?

"C'mon. It's only fair," he responded teasingly, referring to what I had said earlier. As he said it, he leaned forward a bit more with a smile that matched his tone of voice, showing off the dimples in his cheeks. Wow, those dimples really light up his face- wait, stop that!

I tried to come up with something sarcastic to say, but, like yesterday, my mind wouldn't cooperate right. Seeing his adorable smile made my heart beat faster and my stomach start doing flips again. Damn him!

"Fine," I sighed, a fake pout forming on my lips. He chuckled victoriously and leaned back again to his previous position. He was still leaning on his elbows against the table. I smiled at his laugh, which released a group of butterflies to flap around my stomach. "I'm an Aries," I finally answered his question, ignoring how my body was reacting to him all of a sudden. "Born on April 15th, 1992," I went on.

"That would make you eighteen, then? Almost nineteen?" he asked. Well, aren't we full of questions today.

"Yup," I answered. "And you?"

"November 2nd, 1990," he announced.

"Hey guys!" we heard Carlos' chipper voice call, interrupting our conversation.

Kendall turned and got up, smiling. "Hey man," he said excitedly, doing the handshake-hug thing guys do. My eleven year old sister recently named it "the bro hug" after seeing my older and younger brothers do it one night last year. "How is he?" Kendall asked.

Carlos shrugged his shoulders as I stood up from my own chair. "Same as yesterday," he replied nonchalantly.

Kendall nodded back as Carlos turned to face me. "Sorry. Do you know anything about…?" he trailed off.

I nodded. "Yeah, Kendall briefly explained what happened. I'm really sorry," I apologized, not knowing what else to say.

It brought a smile to his face, though. "Don't be," he reassured, slightly shaking his head from side to side. "None of it was your fault," he said.

"Still, it's sad to hear about," I argued back, sympathetically, of course.

"Well, I appreciate it, thanks," he said graciously as Kendall, I noticed, went to check his phone.

"No problem," I said, smiling.

"Hey, dude, we gotta go," Kendall said to Carlos. "James just texted me. They want us for sound check in ten minutes," he explained.

"Crap, we better get going then," Carlos said. He turned to me again, opening his arms out for a hug? What? Still, I smiled and stepped into his embrace. "It was good seeing you again," he said as we pulled away.

"Great seeing you, too," I said happily, turning to Kendall. He now had his jacket on, his scarf and gloves still resting on the table. He too stepped forward, wrapping his arms around my thin waist. I felt a brief shiver run through my body as I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders. The little cartoon version of me was probably bouncing off the walls at this point, screaming at me to let go and run away.

"See you tonight," Kendall said a couple short seconds later as we pulled away.

I nodded and swallowed. What just happened? "Yeah, see you tonight," I repeated, nodding my head. "It was fun talking to you," I made sure I added as Kendall wrapped his scarf around his neck.

"Yeah, same here," he said smiling, grabbing the rest of his belongings.

I said goodbye to the guys once more before they left. They each threw away their coffee cups as they stepped out, then sparked up a conversation about, well, God knows what. How am I supposed to know? I'm not with them.

I sighed happily, going towards my chair and grabbed my own jacket, preparing myself to leave. But, of course, I couldn't leave without getting a dirty look from Jill, who was still working behind the counter. I just turned away and smiled to myself as I reached into my bag and grabbed my own gray gloves, slipping them on before leaving Starbucks.

* * *

**Well, what do ya think? Again, i'm not too crazy about this chapter, but tell me what you think.**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	5. Chapter 5

**Good news, all North Jersey schools have snow days today, which means an update for you guys! Bad news, my graduation was pushed back another day :( Worse news, because of the many snowdays we had this year, we're this much closer to having Spring Break being taken away this year. Boooooo!**

**Anyways, here's the chapter you've all been waiting for: The Concert! I really hope i made it okay. I really tried to relate this a little more to the show. Camille's prepping for the night and what she does at the show, James' lucky v-neck is mentioned, Logan's sarcasm (also only mentioned), and my favorite songs they sang on the show so far are added. My absolute favorite is "Worldwide," but they haven't sung that yet, so i don't want to add it. Plus, I'd rather add that when it goes with the story. Like say, Kendall and Jo are in love, he's away in France or someplace, and Jo sees a clip of him on YouTube singing this song and dedicating it to her. And no, i won't be writing that. Though, that would make a cute oneshot! Ooh, maybe i will write that! Not here, though. I have the story planned to a go a certain way, and I doubt I'll include a world tour in here for quite sometime. But yeah, not the point.**

**So, i've been in the OC-Story mode lately this past week, so I'll give you guys the ones i read (or have read). And they're all really good. I don't think either of these started out as an OC conetest, so if you're really annoyed by those like me, I suggest you read these. They all have original plots and relatable characters. Please check these out if you want to read an OC story, but not one of those cliche ones. All good? Good :D**

**"Hottie On The Beach" - fearless523 (okay, this is the _only_ cliche one in my list (if at all), but it's sweet - go read it!)  
"Coffee Break" - tawniee  
"Sparks Fly" - dearclarissa  
"Teenage Dream" - The One With The Master Plan  
"Paradise" - Gloomybear12335  
"Hooked" - surfergal23**

**Alright, enough rambling. Happy Reading :D**

**Disclaimer**: Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. All songs I mention belong to their rightful owners. All title rights go to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

* * *

I walked into my dorm room later that afternoon, around four-fifteen, ending my shift about ten minutes ago. "I'm back," I announced.

"There you are!" Camille exclaimed excitedly, standing next to my bed. "Where were you?" she asked somewhat accusingly.

"Sorry, I had to go to pick up something," I lied, holding up the Michael's craft store bag I had in my hands. Well, partially lied. I actually went there before stopping at Jack's. Whenever I had a break between tables, I would reach into the bag and work on the little surprise I was making for the guys tonight.

She shook her head. "Whatever," she muttered hurriedly, picking up two hangers and bringing them over to me. Oh, boy. I knew this was coming. Not only was she a performing arts fanatic, but she was also obsessed with fashion. Seriously. She even dressed me on certain occasions since I've been here. My first (and only) college party, the beachfront concert The Maine had back in September, and other related situations. "Here, wear this tonight," the brunette ordered, shoving the hangers at me before rushing back to my bed, gathering up a other clothes that were sprawled out across my teal and blue comforter. Obviously, tonight wouldn't be an exception.

"Um, okay?" I said, confused. I picked the hangers up a bit and examined the clothes she had given me. One hung a navy blue colored tank top that belonged to Camille, actually. It was flowy and loose-fitting, and hand spaghetti straps. The other was a long, cream colored knit cardigan I owned, but never had the chance to wear. It still had the Forever 21 tag attached to the sleeve. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing now?" I asked, referring to the sweater and scarf I had worn today. Normally, I'd come back in the blue button-down I'd wear at work. However, I was late, and just brought my uniform with me and changed in the staff locker room after I punched in. I left my shirt and nametag in my locker before leaving.

She turned away from the closet, where she was hanging up other tops and pairs of jeans she had pulled out earlier. "It's cute, but don't you want to impress one of the guys?" she asked me. "I was able to get us front row seats, _and_ backstage passes, so they'll be checking us out all through the night," she added.

"No, I don't want to impress any of them," I answered truthfully. Though after what happened with Kendall this morning, it wouldn't hurt to dress up a little more, right? Great, I truly sound like I'm falling for him now. Just what I need.

"Here, maybe you can wear these, too," Camille replied a second later, stepping away from the closet with a pair of dark, dark blue skinny jeans. "Actually, scratch that, I like the ones you're wearing," she added smiling, referring to my worn out, faded pair.

"Uh, thanks?" I questioned, laughing a little as I made my way over to my bed.

"And you're totally lying," Camille said suddenly a couple seconds later.

I turned my head back to her. What? "What?" I asked her.

She turned her own head around to face me. "Come on, I saw you with that issue of Pop Tiger yesterday. You were totally eying one of the BTR guys," she accused, smiling.

Uh, sorry roomie. You're wrong. "How do you know I wasn't eying that Jacob guy from _Twilight_?" I asked her, laying the clothes on my bed.

She chuckled and stepped closer to me. Meanie! You're not supposed to laugh at me! "You weren't. I know you," she said, sitting down on my bed and staring up at me. "I noticed the article before I even asked you what you were reading. And after you freaking waited on the guys yesterday at the diner, you have to be crushing on one of them," she reasoned. Damn, she's good. Wait, that's not true though!

I shook my head and smirked. "That's ridiculous," I responded.

"But true," she persisted.

"Shut it, roomie," I said in a playful tone. She laughed and got up, moving back towards the closet again. "So, if you're going to impress that Logan guy tonight – which I know you are," I added. She laughed in response. "What do you plan on wearing?" I asked her.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Not sure…" she said, trailing off as she moved some hangers back and forth.

I finally obliged to her previous request, untying the scarf from around my neck and stripping off my white, comfortable sweater. Why did I have to change again? "What do you think?" Camille asked a moment later, after I shrugged the blue tank top over my head and pulled it down to my hips.

I looked to see her holding up a short ivory colored lace dress. It had long sleeves, and had a similarly colored slip underneath it. Though, the dress was short. Like, really short, only going just passed her butt and ending at the very top of her thighs.

"Uh, don't you think that's a little slutty looking for a _Big Time Rush_ concert?" I asked with a slight laugh, emphasizing the band's name. There'd be younger kids there for God's sake!

"If Logan's seeing me tonight, not really," she answered.

"Camille," I said in a warning tone.

She sighed exasperatedly, leaning her head back in frustration. "Fine," she agreed, turning around and hanging the dress back up.

I put the cardigan on over the blue top, inspecting myself in Camille's full-length mirror. It was long, like I said before, going past my ass. The funniest part, it was about an inch or two longer than the dress Camille had showed me earlier.

Camille noticed I was dressed and came over, telling me to leave it unbuttoned and to tie the ends around my hips. She then insisted I wear one of her necklaces, shoving one in my face. It was a long, chunky silver chain that had a heart pendant at the bottom. It went way past my boobs, the pendant finally resting halfway down my stomach. I had to admit, this did look nice. Camille did know what she was doing. I even added a few more pieces of jewelry as Camille got dressed. Not much, just a set of rings I'd gotten from Forever 21, and some beaded bracelets I owned.

As for Camille, after showing me slutty outfit after slutty outfit, she had settled on wearing a casual brown sweater dress. It was just as short as the lace dress she showed me, but would look good with a pair of black leggings and boots.

Upon her later request, I changed my hairstyle to match the new outfit. And, of course, she did it for me. Big surprise. I had it down in its usual waves all day, only tying it into a low ponytail for work. For now, she gathered my hair to the left side of my face, securing the side ponytail with a hairtie and a few bobby pins. I left my makeup light, only touching up what I already had on.

As Camille curled her hair and did whatever else to get ready, I pulled out my belongings from the Michael's bag, continuing what I was working on at Jack's. Thankfully, I was done by five, when we finally left to meet up with our friends – Amber included – at an on-campus café for dinner before going to the theater.

* * *

"You do realize that you probably crushed some eight year old's dream of being front and center at a Big Time Rush concert, and having James Diamond high-five them from the stage, right?" Amber asked Camille as we moved to our seats in the front row of the college theater. She was sweet, and I loved her. She had long, platinum blonde hair that was usually tied into a high ballerina-like bun, but was worn down tonight and flat ironed. She almost always wore pink, and did the same tonight. She wore a pink babydoll tank top with beige colored jeans, her makeup light like mine, and had on some similar pieces of jewelry that I was wearing.

"So, I have the exact same dream," Camille retorted back, placing her jacket on the seat she claimed. "Only instead of James, it's Logan," she added.

"Yeah, we know," I said exasperatedly, taking the seat next to her and shoving my red bag underneath my seat. It was a Christmas present from one of my aunts, and I was saving it for spring. Again, like almost everything I was wearing, Camille insisted I'd bring that to "add a pop of color to my outifit", as she told me. "What time is it?" I called back to the other two girls with us. There would have been three, but a friend of Amber's couldn't get off of work tonight. She, and possibly her roommate, would join us tomorrow, though. Even Will would probably join us!

"6:54," our friend Natalie answered after peaking at her phone.

I heard Camille squeal excitedly from her seat. "Only six more minutes 'til show time!" she announced excitedly.

"Camille, Camille!" I exclaimed, trying to get her attention over the loud audience. She turned to look at me. "Relax," I told her, laughing.

"And besides, you of all people should know that shows do tend to start late," Natalie spoke up. They were both working on the play, Camille being one of the lead actresses, Natalie playing a character in a subplot, or something like that. They were really close, being the only freshmen in the cast.

The four of us spent our time joking around with one another as we waited for the guys to get up on stage and perform. Camille snatched her camera out of her own purse, snapping posed and candid shots of us. In the meantime, I looked all around the crowd of people sitting in the theater. There were girls of all ages sitting in their assigned seats, or were making their way to them. Parents were present to chaperone the younger fans, and I think I even saw a couple boyfriends that were dragged along to come with their girlfriends. And Will will be amongst them tomorrow. Ha! Half of the people present had t-shirts and hoodies on with either the band's logo or the guys' faces plastered across the front. Tons of brightly colored signs were scattered around. There was even music playing through the theater's sound system, blaring out songs by Ke$ha, the cast of _Glee_, and Justin Bieber. I swear if I heard "Baby" one more time…!

However, the four of us did get up and start dancing when Mr. Shue and the New Directions' version of "Toxic" from the Britney Spears episode started playing. We got cheers from some people, and stares from others. Yeah, we're all Gleeks, get over it.

I also found myself looking through the program more than I thought I would. It was huge, like any other program you'd get at a concert. The front was the same as the poster that I'd seen around campus. Inside were a few collages of photos of the guys – some with family, some with just the four of them – and individual interviews with the guys, the questions typed and answers handwritten. Each one had the classic Full Name, Age, Birthday, Birthplace (which I didn't understand why it was in there – all their answers were Duluth, Minnesota), Favorites, Bad Habits, First Kiss, etc. Logan's said he used sarcasm a hundred times a day! Hey, if things didn't work out with Kendall and I- no. No "Kendall and I." Hell, there shouldn't be any "Kendall" to begin with!

As Natalie said, the show was starting later than expected, making Camille angry. She kept on complaining that she wanted the show to start and for her to see Logan.

"What time is it?" Camille asked impatiently.

Amber looked at her phone. "7:12," she sighed, putting the phone back in her pocket.

Camille groaned and sat back in her seat. Now, I was getting annoyed. I didn't want to come here in the first place. Then, I met Kendall and the guys and started getting excited for the show. Hell, I even went along with changing my outfit and doing my hair differently. Now, Camille has been complaining about how the show was starting late. And like Natalie said, she of all people should know that shows start late. She's been in like, two hundred plays and musicals. And all of them probably started ten, twenty, even sixty minutes later than scheduled.

"Okay, you know what Camille-" I started, turning my body to face her. But before I could continue, the lights in the theater began to dim, an ear-piercing cry of cheers erupting from the crowd. Camille, too. Great.

The beginnings of a song I actually recognized started playing, making the audience cheer louder, if that was even possible. Seriously, I was this close to cupping my hands over my ears at this point.

Finally, the black curtain began to part, as the guys started singing the opening lines of their first song.

_Oh…  
__It's gonna be a big night  
__We're gonna have a good time  
__It's gonna be a big, big, big, big, big, big night_

And there they were, backs turned to the crowd and microphones held to their faces. Again, the crowd cheered louder and started singing along. Even I found myself standing up out of my seat and cheering them on.

As the first verse started, they turned around and started walking down to the front of the stage, Carlos' strong voice starting the song off, the other three dancing right behind him.

_One, two, three, all my boys and girls  
__We're gonna party like it's the end of the world  
__Let's get it started, started, started_

_Whoa, whoa  
__Waiting all week and it's Friday night  
__We're gonna get dressed up for the time of our lives  
__Let's get it started, started, started_

Logan stepped up and started singing the hook before all four of them sang the chorus, everyone singing and chanting along with them. I liked this song. I didn't get why it was so popular before, but now I understood a little bit. It had "I Gotta Feeling"-esque lyrics (and, wasn't that song Number 1 on the Billboards for two months?), a fun dance beat, and four attractive guys singing it.

The song continued for another two minutes or so. Again, the crowd cheered and sang along, myself and our small group included. Kendall didn't have a solo in this song, except at the very end of the bridge. But when he did sing, I involuntarily cheered his name loud enough for him to look over. I felt myself blush _again_ today, but still danced along as he smiled and waved in my direction as he danced.

* * *

_I keep getting stuck, stuck  
__But I'm never giving up, up  
__In the middle of a perfect day  
__I'm tripping over words to say_

We were well into the show at this point, and, even I had to admit, it was a lot of fun. Good music, good friends, good… well, I guess that was kind of it. But it was great, better than I thought it'd be.

Throughout the show, the guys had come up to the front of the stage and high fived the people in the front row. That was funny, because when Logan came up to us, Camille almost dragged him down off the stage to be with us.

There was no way you could sit down at a show like this. Even when you went to take your seat after one song, you found yourself jumping back up and dancing along with the band for the next. Even during their acoustic set, most of the crowd was on their feet, waving their cell phones and glow sticks in the air as if they were lighters. Camille dragged me to do it with her, even wrapping our arms around each other's shoulders and swaying our bodies to the beat of the music. Why do they even assign people seats to these things if you're not even going to sit in them? Nevertheless, it was still fun.

Right now, the guys were finishing up a mini acoustic set while their backing band was taking a break, save for one of the guitarists joining them. They were currently singing the same version of "Stuck" that they did on _90210_ last year. All four guys sat on wooden stools brought out by a couple stagehands, their microphones placed in stands for the time being. Again, Kendall had his acoustic guitar out and resting on his lap as he strummed the appropriate chords. After each song, he would throw his guitar pick out into the crowd and take a new one out of his jeans pocket. He had changed his clothes from earlier in the day, now wearing a gray and black striped shirt with dark jeans, Vans, and the same dark beanie he had on yesterday covering his blonde locks.

Carlos looked a little different as well. Maybe. I don't know what he wore under his jacket today at Starbucks, but he still looked nice and casual – a blue t-shirt, gray zip-up hoodie that was unzipped, jeans, and Converse.

James had been wearing a white v-neck with a black leather jacket over, but quickly stripped that off after their third or fourth song. I swear, if the audience wasn't loud earlier, they were roaring when he threw his jacket off to a stagehand that hung back behind one of the curtains. Eh, I couldn't blame them. With the Bieber-like haircut that pre-teen girls loved, and his toned arms that were now visible for everyone to see, it was no wonder that girls loved him the most.

And, I guess if I'm explaining everyone else's clothes, I might as well describe Logan's right? It is only fair I do that. Just like what Kendall and I said at the coffeehouse earlier. Ha ha, no, focus Jo. Kendall. Bad.

Logan was wearing a black t-shirt and tan colored vest over top with jeans and Converse. Camille was literally praying that he would take off his vest and throw it out into the crowd so she could have it. If she wasn't obsessed before, I had no idea what to call her now.

'_Cause I don't wanna keep you guessing  
__But I always end up getting stuck, stuck  
__But I'm never giving up, up_

Again, the audience cheered as Logan moved closer to his microphone, thanking the crowd once again that night. A few stagehands came back out and took the stools away, one of them taking Kendall's guitar backstage with them. Awww, no more guitar? I unexpectedly grew sad, the last thing I wanted. And to make the situation worse, he didn't toss his guitar pick out to the crowd. I swear, I'm not falling for the guy, but who wouldn't want a guitar pick thrown to them at a concert? Plus, I had a thing for guitar players. Having Kendall throw his pick out in our direction and me catching it would just make my day.

Yeah, did I ever mention how much I loved guitar players? It's true. Any band I liked, I always favored the guitar player. The Summer Set – Josh Montgomery; Metro Station – Trace Cyrus; The Maine – Kennedy Brock; Daughtry – well, Chris Daughtry, but he was married. And that Josh guy was good looking, too. I never knew why, but something about a guitar player always fascinated me.

See, now this whole not-falling-for-Kendall thing isn't working out in my favor. He's gorgeous for one thing, he has green eyes - which I love in a guy, he has a beautiful voice, and now he plays guitar. Someone _please_ give me something about him that will turn me off, please!

"Alright guys, this is our last song of the night," James announced, receiving a loud chorus of Aw's and No's from the audience.

"Again, we want to thank you guys for coming out here tonight. It means a lot to us," Carlos said into his own mic.

"We love you guys-"

"We love you, Logan!" Amber and Camille cut Logan off.

He chuckled and turned towards our direction. "I love you, too," he said happily. The two girls turned to each other, laughing and squealing at what just happened. Huh, so Amber had a thing for Logan too, now. Ha ha, let's see how Will likes that tomorrow.

Much like the rest of the night, when a few girls would shout that they loved a certain guy and the guys responded back, large quantities of girls started announcing their love for their favorite Big Time Rusher. The guys took a moment for the cheers and cries to die down before either of them even bothered to speak again.

"Again, we love you guys," Logan started out. "And, I think we can honestly say that this is one of the best crowds we've ever had- Am I right?" he shouted, holding his microphone up and out for the audience's response. I couldn't help but laugh, thinking about how many shows they probably said that, and how many fans actually bought it. Still, I cupped my hands over my mouth and whooped with the rest of them.

Once that died down, Kendall brought his own microphone up and spoke into it. "We love you," Kendall repeated. Wow, super original. "And, despite the lyrics of our next song, we will never forget about you guys," he added.

I laughed as the crowd cheered and the guys positioned themselves for their final song. That had to be one of the cheesiest things I have ever heard at a concert. But as the beginning notes of the song began to play, I understood why he had added that final line, as cheesy and untrue as it probably was.

Kendall brought his microphone to his lips then and started singing. As this was one of the few songs I had on my iPod, I started singing along as well.

_Get a call on a random afternoon  
__I pick it up, and I see that it's you  
__Like my heart, you were breaking the news  
__You say, "It's over, it's over, it's over"_

As the guys danced behind him, he walked across the front of the stage, making his way toward our group. Camille, Amber, Natalie, me, and other fans surrounding us reached out our hands for him to slap. Guess whose hand he touched first? Yup, mine. He had come through this section a couple times throughout the night, along with the others. They never did much, just high five and smile at us as they continued singing.

This time was different, though. When our hands touched, he wrapped his fingers around it and sang the next line to me directly. I felt a chill run up my spine as he did so.

_Heading out, 'cause I'm out of my mind_

He slipped something small in my hand before letting go and moving towards the other fans. I brought my hand closer to my face to see what he gave me. It was a small, green guitar pick.

_All my friends are gonna see me tonight  
__Staying here 'til the starts to rise  
__And I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna-_

The chorus followed immediately after that, as he joined his friends that were jumping up and down on the stage. I did as well, clenching my hand in a fist as to not let go of the pick, dancing along to the music with Camille and our friends as they sang.

_Dance hard, laugh more, turn the music up now  
__Party like a rockstar, can I get a "what now?"  
__I swear I'll do  
__Anything that I have to  
_'_Til I forget about you-_

_Jump up, fall down, gotta play it loud now  
__Don't care, my head's spinning all around now  
__I swear I'll do  
__Anything that I have to  
_'_Til I forget about you_

_

* * *

_

**There ya have it! I really hope this met everyone's expectations. If not, well, did you really expect me to right out a full concert, song by song, lyric by lyric? That'd get extremely repetitive after a while. Ooh, and, whether you noticed or not, I took the ideas for the guys' outfits from their mall tour back in the fall. I don't think they're all from one particular concert, but I saw them in the "Big Night" music video, and wanted to add that in. Kendall's and Carlos' are from the concert in Jersey though. That was so much fun!**

**And, before anyone asks: Yes, Camille and Logan will finally meet in the next chapter. I'll return back to my roughly 2,000-word limit then. And, there will be a little twist towards the end that Jo will not like. You will, though :D**

**Anyways, _please please PLEASE _send in a review, and i'll be your bestest friend ever**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	6. Chapter 6

**Nearly 4,000 words! That's more than i said this would be! Oh well, i think it turned out descent anyway. You guys tell me what you think.**

**To save you the boredom, I won't promote any additional stories, but please check out anything I already told you to read. I promise that they're worth the read.**

**And now, onto the story!**

**Disclaimer**: Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. All songs I mention belong to their rightful owners. All title rights go to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

* * *

"Hi there, sweetie, what's your name?" I heard James ask a young girl, roughly eight or nine years old, as she and a teenager neared their meet-and-greet table.

"Rebecca," she answered in a shy, but sweet sounding tone.

He jotted the name down on her poster and started a small conversation with her and her sister, cousin, neighbor, whoever the older girl was standing behind her.

"I can't believe we're meeting Big Time Rush!" Camille exclaimed in her usual sing-song voice.

"I know!" Amber chimed in with the same sing-song tone.

Yes, we were in line the meet-and-greet line to, well, meet and greet with the boys. I mean, that is the point of a meet-and-greet. That's why they call them meet-and-greets.

The concert had ended with "Til I Forget About You" nearly an hour ago. And since then, we've been waiting in line at Camille and Amber's requests. Plus, Camille had managed to get us the backstage passes, so how could we not go, right? Right. The line was long, containing at least half the people who showed up for the concert. Each one held a poster, sign, program, t-shirt, or a CD, waiting for the band to autograph them, or to take photos with the guys.

As we waited, as if we haven't heard enough of Big Time Rush's music already, their album played through a nearby speaker that was hooked to the theater's sound system. I didn't mind. I was even planning to go on iTunes when I got back to the dorm and buy all their songs. I only had "Til I Forget About You," "Stuck," and "Big Time Rush" on my iPod. Yes, they had a song called "Big Time Rush." And yes, I realize how corny that is. But it's catchy, and I like it, so there.

"I swear on my life, right in the middle of 'Boyfriend,' James looked right at me and pointed at me when he sang," a girl in front of us exclaimed to her friend. A lot of the conversations going on around us were like that. Others were about their favorite part of the concert, or just rants about their favorite band member. There was even a five year old girl singing "The City Is Ours" behind us, even when something else was playing in the background. Awww!

Camille checked the time on her phone and groaned. "I swear, that girl has been talking to Logan nonstop for three minutes!" she exclaimed, motioning towards someone at the other end of the table. She looked to be a little younger than us, about fourteen or fifteen years old, with strawberry-blonde hair and a black Big Time Rush hoodie on over her slender frame.

I smirked. "Well, can you blame her? I mean, maybe she likes Logan as much as you do," I responded, peeking into my bag. My gift for the guys was still tucked in there, safe and sound. I still couldn't believe I had time to finish making it during work and whatever time I had before the show. You know what else I couldn't believe? How paranoid I was about making sure I still had it. I have probably double, triple, and quadruple checked to make sure nothing was lost or stolen. You know why I can't believe it? Because I promised myself I wouldn't be a crazy fan. I wasn't looking forward to this concert when Camille first announced we were going. How could I be giving them presents when I'm not even an obsessed fan? That's another thing that paranoid me. I didn't want to be an obsessive fan. Because then, that would mean falling for Kendall. And I _do not_ like Kendall! That way, at least.

"Uh, I doubt anyone can like Logan as much as Camille does," Amber interjected. Eh, that was true. I'll give it to her.

Camille nodded, smiling. "True," she said proudly.

I rolled my eyes and looked ahead, not realizing that we had moved up in the line. Not by much though. That girl who swore James sang to her was next in line with her small group of friends.

I heard Camille squeal again, but not as loud as she had throughout the night. Thank God! "Only a couple of minutes away from meeting BTR," she announced.

"Can't wait," I replied, smiling.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, we finally reached the table. I don't know how it happened, but I was first up in our group. I placed my program down on the table in front of James, who was in the first seat.

"What's up, Jo?" he greeted excitedly, holding a hand in the air to high-five me. He hadn't changed his clothes from what he wore on stage earlier. I don't think any of the guys did, actually. But James had his leather jacket back on rather than wearing just the white v-neck he performed in for most of the show.

Somewhat shocked, I laughed and slapped his hand back. "What's up, James?" I greeted him happily as our hands collided.

"_Big surprise_ seeing you here," he said sarcastically, emphasizing the first two words.

I laughed and shrugged my shoulders. "I did say I'd be here, didn't I?" I responded. He laughed and brought the booklet closer to him, turning the pages until he found his interview and started writing a small note on an empty space.

"So, how'd you like the show?" he asked, scribbling my name down with his black sharpie.

Before I could answer, Carlos dismissed the fan in front of him, turning up to look at us. "Hey," he greeted happily as he saw me.

"Hey," I smiled and said excitedly to him. "You guys sounded great; probably better live than on the album," I added, answering James' question. That was true. I mean, it's never like that at most concerts, but they did sound really good live and in person. Plus, it was easy to tell that their voices weren't auto-tuned or edited for their album.

"Wow, thank you," James said, looking up briefly from whatever he was writing in the program.

I smiled. "You're welcome," I replied, gazing down at both boys' wrists. They too had bracelets on their wrists that looked similar to Kendall's, some in different colors and patterns.

James turned the page in the program to Carlos' section before moving it in front of the Latino. I turned to my side, seeing Camille carrying on some sort of conversation with Amber. "Camille," I called to her.

Immediately, she looked over and stepped up next to me. "This is my roommate, Camille. Remember, from that video we made yesterday…?"

"Oh yeah! What's up Camille?" James said as she handed him her program. Camille laughed nervously as Amber and Natalie joined her, getting sucked into our conversation with James and Carlos. It was fun, but nothing too eventful. Just some minor joking around amongst the six of us as Carlos signed my program, and James went on to sign the others' belongings.

Another thing that frustrated me at the moment? Why Kendall and Logan were so into a conversation with the three girls in front of them. That wasn't the frustrating part, though. The real frustrating part was how I was getting frustrated with them. Don't get me wrong, James and Carlos were sweet and I loved every moment we were speaking. I mean, it's not- (insert frustrated sigh here) Is it normal to be so eager to talk to a guy you're just friends with? No, it's not. Now you get it.

"Alright, thank you guys," I had heard Kendall say to the girls standing next to us, Logan repeating him.

"Okay, Jo, there you go," Carlos said, finally finishing his note on my program. It wasn't long, I noticed, but he spent so much time talking with us that he got distracted. Especially when I asked how his dad was. He was vague, saying that he was doing better than he had been lately and thanking me. I didn't mind the short answer. Like I said earlier, that stuff was personal and none of my business. In addition to the other distractions, he was given Camille's program in the middle of signing, and started writing in that before he even finished mine! And, he even moved it down the line to Kendall before mine! Wait, did I seriously just get angry over that?

Carlos flipped a couple of pages back to Kendall's, shoving the large booklet in his direction. Camille had moved around me toward him as he was signing hers, and was in the middle of a conversation with him, laughing at something Camille had said. Logan was looking up at her, trying to find the right moment to join their conversation. Huh, Camille hadn't even bothered to get Logan's attention yet? That's unlike her.

"There you go," Kendall said, smiling up at Camille as he handed her the program and capping his marker. I heard her thank him before stepping up to Logan and handing the program to him.

Kendall finally looked up a second later, seeing who he would be signing for next. A smile etched its way onto his face, those damn dimples of his showing themselves to the world. Wonderful. "Hey, Jo," he said warmly.

"Hi," I replied smiling.

I then heard Logan speak up from his position next to Kendall. "Uh, hello, your name?" Logan asked, almost ready to wave a hand in front of Camille's face.

I held up my index finger to Kendall in a one-second gesture before stepping next to Camille. She was in some sort of state of shock, I think, or was just frozen by nerves. I wrapped a friendly arm around her shoulders and turned to face Logan. "Hey," I greeted him.

"Hey, Jo," he said, stepping up to high-five me like James did earlier.

I laughed and gave Camille's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, gently shoving her back and forth to bring her back to the present. "This is Camille, my roommate from that video we made yesterday at the diner…" I trailed off.

He nodded, remembering. "Hey, Camille. I'm Logan," he tried again, holding a hand out for her to shake. She still didn't move, urging Kendall to join in.

"Come on, Camille, he doesn't bite," he joked.

I tried my hardest not to laugh at the situation. This was so unlike her. Camille was very outspoken, charismatic, crazy, friendly, and affectionate. When we went to see The Maine perform a concert in Wildwood, she was crazier with the guys then she was now. She had a crush on the lead singer, John something. Google the last name yourself. She wasn't as obsessed with him as Logan, but still, she loved him. Anyways, they had a meet-and-greet type of thing like this, and she was practically in the guy's lap when we reached him at their table.

Now, when she met Logan, anyone else would think she'd do something like that with him, or pull a similar stunt to what she did earlier tonight, when she tried to drag him down towards our group. Obviously, her body had turned against her and froze itself up.

A second later, she raised her hand to shake Logan's, earning a victorious laugh out of the raven-haired singer. "H-hi," she stuttered nervously.

I smirked and removed my arm from her shoulders. "Good luck," I muttered to her before turning back to Kendall.

He smiled. "So, where were we?" he questioned, removing the cap off of his sharpie.

"Well, you were going to sign that," I started, reaching into my jeans pocket. I pulled out the small piece of green plastic he had given me during the group's final song. "And, I was going to thank you for this," I said, holding up the guitar pick.

He laughed a little. "I see you got my little gift," he responded.

"I did," I said, nodding. "And, I have something for you in return," I added, reaching a hand in my bag, putting the pick in a secure location and grabbing the four small items I had been working on all day.

He raised an eyebrow, which was hidden underneath his blonde bangs that peeked out underneath his beanie. "Oh really, now?" he asked me, still smiling. God, he looked cute right now. He was making it so much harder for me not to like him.

"Yeah," I said, finally pulling my hand out of the bag. "For all of you, I mean," I added quickly, waving four finished friendship bracelets in front of him.

"No way!" he exclaimed, laughing.

Carlos looked up from talking with Amber, I guess overhearing what I had told Kendall, and noticed the bracelets as well. "That's awesome," Carlos said, looking at what I had created.

I laughed bashfully and nodded. "Thanks," I said, separating two of the untied bracelets from the rest to give to Carlos. I made a certain one for Kendall, and made the other three out of any two random colors I grabbed from the bunch I bought at Michael's. I got typical guy colors, like red and blue and green. But, I also got one particularly girly color that I had used in Kendall's. "They're not the greatest. I haven't made anything like this since I was in eighth grade, but I see you guys wear them, and I figured I'd help add something to your collection," I explained.

As I spoke, Carlos grabbed the two I gave him, handing the black and blue one to James (still in a brief conversation with Natalie and Amber), keeping the orange and red one that was still in his hands.

"Whoa, who made these?" James asked excitedly, instantly going to tie the strand around his left wrist with a free hand.

"Jo did," Kendall answered, cocking his head in my direction.

"Whoa, seriously?" James asked excitedly.

I laughed at him and and felt my face get hot, turning back to face Kendall. Now, Logan was watching what was going on, so I handed the two remaining bracelets to the boys – a blue and white one for Logan, a green and pink one for Kendall. "Come on, I get the pink one?" Kendall asked jokingly.

"You're already wearing a pink bracelet," I retorted.

"And besides," James spoke up as he finished tying his with his teeth. Weird, but whatever. "Real men where pink," he said a second later, the bracelet tied securely around his wrist now.

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that," Kendall fought back. He turned back to me, cocking his head again as he spoke. "He has pink t-shirts in his closet," he explained.

I nodded. "I figured," I said with a light chuckle. Better than giggling though, right?

"And, you know what; he legitimately has a hot pink shirt in his closet that says 'Real Men Wear Pink' across the front," he added.

"It's true!" James interjected.

"Hey, we're talking here!" Kendall jokingly yelled at his friend. James just laughed and went back to signing whatever was in front of him.

I shook my head and laughed. "Are you guys always like this?" I asked Kendall.

"Most of the time," he said, holding his wrist out to me. "Tie this on for me?" he asked sweetly.

I smiled, grabbing the bracelet from his other hand and wrapping it around the wrist. "Why not?" I answered, going to tie the ends.

Once that was done, he brought my program closer and getting ready to sign it. "Now, what was your last name – it's Taylor, right?" he asked, bringing the sharpie down to the page.

"Y-yeah, yeah, it is. Jo Taylor," I stumbled out. Well, that was unexpected. He smirked and finally went to write down a note. As he did so, we talked and joked around for another minute. The others joined us as well. It was fun. We were frustrating fans that were standing right behind us, as well as having a civil, carefree, and random conversation with one of the hottest bands in the country. No big deal or anything, right?

"Hey, can we get a photo with you guys?" Amber asked a few moments later. Kendall still hadn't finished writing in my program, but had briefly signed Amber and Natalie's before shoving them down towards Logan and continuing mine. They didn't move around me at all like Camille did earlier, but still were able to talk to him briefly as he signed their belongings.

All the guys nodded, or gave some form of yes. They stood up and motioned for us to join them behind the table. "Yo, Kelly!" Carlos called to someone behind the boys. A young African-American woman, maybe in her late twenties, looked up from something she was typing on her blackberry and turned to Carlos. My guess was she was the guys' publicist or agent or something. "Mind taking a group photo?" he asked her politely, holding out Amber's digital camera.

"Sure," she responded happily, stepping over and grabbing the camera out of his hands.

As luck would have it, I was smushed next to Kendall in the photo. Any college girl's dream, right? Well, when you're me, no. We all had our arms wrapped around each other's backs, smiles plastered on our faces for the camera. Kendall's hand was placed right at the small of my back, again making a shiver run through my body. Why does he have this effect on me? I don't like it, not one bit! I prayed he didn't notice it as the Kelly girl took one or two photos of us and handed the camera back to Amber.

"Thank you guys so much!" I heard Natalie say as we walked back to the other side of the table.

"Hey, thank _you_," James responded, taking his previous seat as the others sent their thanks and walked away.

Kendall, who was already in his seat, briefly looked up at me. "This will take one more second, I promise," he said as he scribbled the final words of his note.

"That's okay, take your time," I reassured him, surprised by what I had just said.

A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he finally signed his name and moved the program towards Logan.

"We'll be by the bathrooms when you're done," Camille said to me, smiling.

"Great, see you in a bit," I responded. She smiled back and walked down the hallway with the others, a few more fans coming up to the table to talk with the rest of the guys.

* * *

"Awww, that turned out so good!" Camille gushed, her head peeking over Amber's shoulder as we gazed at the photo the band's publicist (or whatever she was) took of us.

"It did," Amber agreed, turning the camera off and placing it back in her bag. We were walking outside now, bundled up in our winter jackets as we made our way to our dormitory.

"So, Joanna," Natalie spoke up. I inwardly groaned at my full name. Anyone who knew me knew two things: I can't go a day without my coffee, and I was annoyed when anyone called me by my full name. "What did Kendall end up writing that took so long to finish?" she asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. I haven't even bothered to see what any of them wrote," I admitted.

"What?" Camille asked, shocked.

"Oh come on, we have to read it now!" Amber said.

"Why not wait until we get back to our dorms, where it's warm and I can actually read it in the light?" I suggested. It made sense to do that, didn't it?

Camille nodded. "Yeah, but we all read ours back when we were waiting for you. Aren't you the least bit eager to see what Kendall wrote, at least?" she questioned.

"No," I answered.

"Come on," Amber groaned and looked ahead. "Look, there's a bench right up there by the streetlight thing. Let's sit down and check it out," she suggested.

I looked ahead, seeing a black metal bench in front of something that resembled a streetlight, but was smaller, since it was only needed for a cobblestone walkway. Knowing I wasn't going to win, I sighed and leaned my head back. "Fine…" I groaned.

"Yay, c'mon!" Camille exclaimed, grabbing my hand and dragging me to the bench, Amber and Natalie hot on our tails. "Now, go! Find it now!" Camille ordered, shoving me onto the bench. I shivered as I hit the cold metal, but obliged anyway.

As I turned to Kendall's page, the other girls sat on the bench with me, each looking on so they could see what he had written. Unlike the others' signatures, which were a sentence or two long, his was a paragraph. There weren't any marker smudges on the page, showing that he wrote this with as much care as possible. How sweet! Wait, no. Onto reading, everyone's waiting.

_What's up, Ms. Taylor!_

The other's laughed as I read that aloud. All of them knew about how we ran into each other yesterday, and again today at the Starbucks, so I don't think it surprised them when they heard my last name.

_What is this now, the fourth time we've seen each other in the last two days? That's so crazy! I think it means we're destined to be friends or something, don't you think? It makes sense, especially after all we talked about at Starbucks this morning. Plus, I have your bracelet, you have my guitar pick. It's fate :) __Call or text me when you get the chance:_

"No. Way," was all Camille got out.

"He seriously left you his phone number?" Amber asked excitedly.

Underneath what I had just read was a ten-digit phone number, written slightly neater than the rest of the message he had left for me. Seriously? Did I seriously need to have that?

"Shush," I quickly quieted the girls and continued reading.

_Glad to hear you liked the show, and can't wait to see you tomorrow! Sincerely,  
-__Mr. Knight_

"Wow," I got out a second later, closing the program.

"Oh my God, call him!" Natalie exclaimed, the other girls quickly agreeing with her.

"No, I'm not calling _Kendall Knight_," I fought back.

"Fine, don't call him. Text him!" Camille exclaimed.

I turned to her. "No!" I exclaimed again.

"Why not?" Amber asked.

"I'm just not," I answered vaguely.

"Bullshit," Camille shouted, earning a look from a mother and two young girls walking passed us. Ha ha. "It's so obvious he likes you, at least text him and say 'Hi, had fun at the show. We should be friends.' Something, anything!" she exclaimed.

"No!" I answered, angrily.

She pouted. "Fine. If you're not doing anything, then I will," she responded slyly, reaching into my bag and grabbing my cell phone.

"No!" I repeated, reaching over to grab the electronic device. She just held it farther away and raised it slightly in the air.

"No, I'm putting the fucking number in your phone," she fought back, trying to hide a laugh. Some friend you are, bitch. "If you don't text him in the next twenty-four hours, I will, on my phone, and pretend to be you!" she added.

I sighed, and leaned back into the bench. I knew she was serious now. And her texting Kendall… that would be a big no-no. "Fine," I huffed. She smiled victoriously, reaching for the program and punching the number into my phone.

What the hell am I going to do now?

* * *

**See? I told you she wouldn't like it! Not really a plot twist, or whatever i told you guys, but it's still a change in their relationship. Anywho, I'd really appreciate it if you left me a review, and I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can :D**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	7. Chapter 7

**Shut the front door! Two updates within twelve hours! No effin' way!**

**Haha. I'm really surprised i finished this! I started, thinking i wouldn't finish it for days because I hit a little bit of a writer's block, but this is done, and I'm excited, and I can't wait to see your guys' reactions! :D**

**So, enough rambling. Read and review!**

**Disclaimer**: Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. All title rights go to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

* * *

"Alright, ham and cheese omelet?" I questioned the next morning at Jack's. I was covering a shift for Casey, the waitress who covered for me last night while I was at the Big Time Rush concert. The last thing I needed to remember.

A woman sitting at the table said the food was hers, and I placed the prepared dish in front of her. "Short stack?" I continued to list off, passing the plate to another woman, "and eggs Benedict," I finished, handing the last dish to the last woman sitting at the table. As usual, I check to see if they needed a refill on drinks or anything before leaving and going back to the counter.

I _hated_ the morning shift. Jack and his wife, Jenny, opened the restaurant at four-thirty every morning, save for Sundays, when they opened an hour later. Thankfully, Casey's shift started at six this morning, so I didn't have to get here at fucking four o'clock to clock in. I'm not a morning person. Could you tell? Especially today. It was a little past seven o'clock right now. I had a late night last night, had to get up at five to shower and look descent for work, and only had one cup of coffee today. One! And, just when I could take a break between tables, either another one of mine would be filled, or I'd have to help someone else out with their table.

Thankfully, I wasn't here alone. Camille, Amber, and Will were sitting at the bar, skimming through the menu and talking about last night. I groaned as I walked over to them, resting my elbows on the counter, placing my head on top.

"Long morning?" I heard Will ask, slightly amused. I loved him. He was probably one of my closest guy friends I've made since the move to Jersey. He looked like the stereotypical nerd, with short black hair, black rectangular-framed glasses, and the skinniest body imaginable. He almost always wore skinny jeans, or sometimes those skinny corduroy pants guys wear. But he was the funniest, nicest person I had ever met. And, despite what anyone thinks, he's one-hundred percent straight, and is happily dating Amber. They're both morning people. I hate morning people.

I didn't bother to pick my head up. "Don't start with me, buddy," I said in a warning tone.

I could imagine a huge smirk on his face right now. "Jozilla is back," he said in a sing-song voice, earning a giggle out of his girlfriend. Again, me no likey morning people. Especially these two. They're way too chipper in the morning.

I snapped my head up and glared at him. Jozilla was probably worse than my full name. I received that nickname after I my first morning shift here, and I had been snappy and cranky with everyone I encountered. Hence, the nickname Jozilla. "Get out," I uttered, pointing towards the main entrance of the rather busy diner. Why was it so busy anyway? It's freaking seven o'clock in the morning, on a Saturday! And even worse, I was around chipper, perky people all morning. Like, it's morning. Why be even the slightest bit happy about it?

All three of them laughed, staying put on their barstools. Some friends they are. "Sorry," Will apologized, "but you seriously need to cheer up a little bit," he said.

"How?" I asked, jumping up from the counter. "Especially after what happened last night?"

"You're seriously upset about that?" Camille asked me. "If Logan did something like that to me, I'd-"

"Jo," I heard a male voice call to me. Saved by the bell, somewhat. I turned around to see another waiter, Tyler I think his name was, carrying a tray with four yummy-looking prepared dishes of food on top. I only knew him as Jack and Jenny's son who was attending NJU as well, on some soccer scholarship or something. "Hey, can you take these to my table? I have another tray in there going to the same one," he said as I neared him.

"Sure," I answered in a tired voice, going to grab the rather heavy tray off his hands.

"Awesome," he thanked me. "These go to Tables 14 and 15. Meet you there in a sec," he rushed before heading back to the kitchen.

I sighed and made my way into the dining room, heading to the two combined tabled that seated nine adults. I inwardly groaned, setting the tray down on a nearby, thankfully empty table.

Just as I finished serving the food, Tyler-dude walked right up and set another full tray next to my empty one, picking up a plate that held some eggs and hash browns. "I'll carry that back for you," he said, pointing to the black tray I was about to pick up.

"Bless you," I said in a gracious tone of voice. He laughed and went to serve the food.

I made my way back to the counter, where the others were peeking over Amber's shoulder to see something on her phone and laughing.

"Damn morning people," I uttered as I leaned against the counter.

"What was that?" Will asked, amused.

I shook my head. "Nothing," I said in a more alert voice. He simply laughed and brought his girlfriend closer to him, kissing her temple as she giggled.

Camille turned away from them and looked at me. "Have you even _thought_ about texting Kendall?" she asked.

"No," I answered, scoffing.

"Why not?" Amber asked, shocked.

"Because, there's no reason for me to text him. Plus, he's probably so busy right now, he probably won't even bother answering an Unknown number," I tried to reason.

"Normally, I'd agree," Will but in. Thank you! "But, if this guy gave you his number, he really does want to get to know you better," he added. Asshole.

"And you would know because…?" I asked.

He sat back. "I'm a guy! I know how guys act!" he answered. Bigger asshole. "And, who knows, he's probably been pacing back and forth in his hotel room waiting for you to call," he added. Even bigger asshole. And completely right.

"Whatever," I sighed irritated, grabbing my notepad out of my apron pocket. "Now can you please just give me something that I can take back to the kitchen?" I asked. They gave me their orders, all stuff that would be quick to prepare, thankfully. I hardly ate this morning. My plan was to take my break and eat with them when their food was out, which made me even happier that their stuff would be out soon. I added an omelet and side of fruit to their order (for moi) before leaving the slip of paper in the kitchen and went to check up on my other tables.

* * *

"So, are you gonna do anything about this whole Kendall thing?" Amber asked nearly a half-hour later, finishing up the toasted bagel she ordered.

I shook my head, tired of everyone asking me about him. "I told you a thousand times already, no," I answered, keeping my gaze down on my half-eaten breakfast. There was a coffee mug sitting next to it, but I had finished that long ago.

"Why not?" Camille asked. "It's so obvious that he likes you, and wants to pursue at least some form of friendship with you!" she argued.

"But, I know where you're getting at, Cam, and I don't like him like that," I said, not looking up from my food.

"You're ridiculous, you know that?" she questioned, a pissy tone in her voice.

I smirked. "Love you too, roomie," I said, scooping up a forkful of fruit into my mouth.

"Okay, I love you guys – I really do, but if you don't shut up about this Jonas Brother-wannabe, I'm gonna put you both in a headlock and pull your hair out," he threatened jokingly, continuing to eat his food. Honestly, since I sat down at the counter with them, all Camille and Amber had asked me is when I was calling Kendall, what I'd say to him, etc. Then, they'd talk about something else with each other, and turn back to me and ask the same questions before repeating the cycle.

"I thought you loved me," Amber said in a fake pout.

He turned to her. "You know I love you more than anything," he said, smiling and kissing her.

"Okay, I love you guys – I really do," I repeated what Will said, my voice perky and upbeat, as opposed to what it had been all morning. "But if you don't stop acting so chipper and lovey-dovey together, I'm gonna hurl," I ended angrily, grabbing my plate and empty coffee mug and walking around the counter to bring it back in the kitchen.

"Geez, what's got your knickers in a twist?" I heard Will ask, earning hard laughs from both girls. I rolled my eyes and turned around to collect their empty plates. That's another thing I loved about Will. He never took things like that too seriously, and always found a joke to lighten the mood. I'd be laughing with them, but there were two things standing in my way: work, and the early morning.

"Alright, I'm headed to the ladies' room," Camille announced, standing up from her barstool.

"I'll go with you," Amber offered, removing Will's arm from around her shoulders and pecking him on the lips before leaving.

"Have fun," I said in a groggy tone, moving everyone's plates out of the way. I turned back to Will and leaned against the counter once again. "Sorry about my pissy attitude," I said, sighing.

He laughed, bringing his hand to his back pocket. "It's not you, it's Jozilla, so there's no need to apologize," he said, bringing his wallet out. I glared at him, earning another laugh. "Bring the check, when you can," he told me.

"No problem," I said, turning around to find our orders amongst the ever growing pile. "And thanks for paying for my food," I added.

"Hey, what are friends for?" he answered. I found our slip and added the totals together before handing him the check. Just as he thanked me, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Knowing all too well who it was, I pulled it out and read the text Camille had just sent to me.

_Bathroom now, before anyone else comes in  
__-C_

I sighed, saying a quick goodbye to Will before going to the restrooms. Once I entered the girls' room, Amber rushed to the door and locked it. "Um, what's going on here? You guys realize I'll get in trouble for-"

"I'm seriously calling up this dude right now!" Camille interrupted me, waving her cell phone in the air. Okay, why is she threatening me? Oh yeah, I kind of know, but why does she keep pushing me to do it? It does get annoying after a while.

"I'm not calling Kendall," I retorted back. "And besides, you gave me a twenty-four hour limit. It hasn't even been twelve hours, yet!" I added.

"Still, you should have at least texted the guy last night!" she shouted. Okay, tune it down a bit. There are people right outside of here.

Amber nodded, leaning against the door. "I agree with Camille," she said.

"I'm not even doing that!" I exclaimed.

"And why not?" Camille asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

I turned my head to her. "Because-" I cut myself off, not coming up with a good reason. Camille cocked an eyebrow at me, earning a dirty look in return. "Shut up," I mumbled, moving towards one of the walls.

"Ha!" Camille called as I leaned against the bathroom wall, crossing my arms over my chest as well.

"Why won't you do anything?" Amber asked, concern laced in her tone.

I sighed. "I… I don't know," I answered, sliding down the wall and onto the floor. I couldn't tell them what I had felt the last forty-eight hours about Kendall. I couldn't, because then, they'd push him on me even more. I'm already confused enough about my feelings as it is. I don't want a relationship right now.

"Come on, Jo," Camille said, moving towards me. "There's a reason he gave you his number. Just send him a quick text, saying, 'Hi, what's up,' and see what happens," she suggested.

"I don't want to, though," I responded, pulling my knees to my chest.

"C'mon Jo, tell us what's up," Amber pleaded, not moving from the door. "It's not like we're gonna go on Facebook and blab it to the world," she added.

"I know," I said. "It's just…" I trailed off and paused, trying to think of what was best. I could lie and try to weasel my way out of this conversation, but then they'd continue pressuring me to call him. Or, I could tell them the truth, which wasn't good either. Because, if I told them what was running through my head, then I'd be admitting to liking Kendall as more than a friend, the last thing I wanted.

So, I chose the latter. "I think I'm starting to like him," I finally admitted. "Like, seriously like him," I added.

"I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, and he likes you back! I so knew it!" Camille exclaimed, Amber trying to shush her as she stepped off the door. The brunette ignored her. "I noticed him last night talking to you. His body language, that note, the phone number, he totally likes you!" she added.

Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow. "What body language?" I questioned.

"He was smiling the whole time you guys talked, and it wasn't something fake to please any other fans, it was a fucking real one. He would smirk or laugh when you said one of your regular, everyday witty remarks, he had you tie that bracelet you made on his wrist, he gave you his guitar pick!" she listed, shouting the last part.

"Camille, shut up!" I said softly, hoping no one in the restaurant heard us.

Amber spoke up. "But, who knows?" she started. "Let's be serious here. I mean, I'm not trying to let your hopes down, but maybe he's just one of those guys that's overly friendly, and sees you as this awesome, funny, non-obsessive girl that he and the guys could be good friends with. I mean, you seemed to clique with the other band members pretty well," she said.

"That's exactly what I've been thinking the last couple days," I answered honestly. "But…" I paused again, sighing. "Every time I've been around him, I would feel a chill go down my back. And when we took that group photo last night, I felt myself shake when he just wrapped his arm around me. My stomach does flips when I talk to him, and when we were at Starbucks yesterday, I freakin' _giggled_ at half the stuff he told me. Hell, I still giggle when he talks to me," I went on. "I caught him smiling at me here the other day when I just walked past his friends' table when they were clearly in the middle of a conversation, and he waved at me once or twice from the stage last night, and each time those things happened, I blushed, which you guys know is a rarity," I finally finished.

Camille shook her head happily. "Classic case of love at first sight," she responded.

"But I don't want to fall in love with this guy!" I exclaimed, still keeping my voice soft. "I don't want to fucking date someone right now!" I continued.

"Why?" Amber asked, clearly confused.

"Hello! It's Kendall Knight, one of the hottest celebrities out there!" I argued. "The last thing he'd probably want is for some random girl to gawk over him while he's only here for another day," I said.

"That's not it," Camille said a few seconds later. Darn, I knew that wouldn't work. She knew me too well. I heard her sigh. "It's Jett, isn't it? He's why you don't want to date anyone," she said.

I nodded. "Partially," I answered.

"Who's Jett?" Amber asked, confused.

"Just my ex from back home," I briefly explained to her. I told the story to Camille, and Camille only. No one else needed to know. I felt tears sting my eyes, refusing to blink in fear of letting them fall. First the Kendall situation, and now I had to remember Jett and everything associated with him? I swear, nothing good comes out of waking up at five in the morning.

Camille reached down to hoist me up off the ground. "Don't worry, Jo. I bet you Kendall is a million times better than that douche bag. You have no reason not to trust him," she said, smiling.

"How do you know that?" I asked, still upset.

"I just do," she said, giving my hands a reassuring squeeze. "And, it wouldn't hurt to just text Kendall, and see what happens," she suggested.

I nodded. I couldn't tell what, but something in her voice made me believe her. "You're right," I answered, the smallest of smiles etching its way onto my face.

"So you'll do it?" she asked, her own smile widening.

I nodded, releasing my hand from hers and grabbing my cell phone out of my pocket. "You're right," I repeated. "It can't hurt to just send him a quick text," I confirmed.

"Yes!" she exclaimed happily, pumping both fists in the air. I laughed and opened my phone as she turned to Amber, and they started talking excitedly.

Thanks to Camille already putting the number in last night, I went to my Contacts list and highlighted his name in a flash, choosing the option to text message him.

_Hey Kendall! :D  
__-Jo_

I stuffed my phone in my pocket and walked out of the bathroom with Amber and Camille. I sent them off with Will, giving each a hug before returning back to work. I went to a new table, and rushed back to the counter to fill their drink orders. Just as I put a couple filled coffee mugs and glasses of orange juice on a tray, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

I brought the drinks back to the table and went back to the counter to get some food for another table. As I waited for everything to be loaded on the tray, I pulled my phone out and smiled, seeing the new message alert that flashed across the screen.

_Hey! Finally, i was beginning to worry about u :)_  
_-Kendall_

_

* * *

_

**I'm not as crazy about this as previous chapters, but I still like it. Really hope you guys do too?**

**Review!**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	8. Chapter 8

**Alright, let me guess what u all are thinking. "Here's the part where Meg rambles on and on about nothing, delaying my reading and the review she'll get for this amazing chapter," right? Ding ding ding, you are correct! Well, partially. It's not about nothing, but it'll still be meaningless to half the people that read this. But whatever, here it goes...**

**First off, I am EXTREMELY sorry for the delay! I had two major projects due this week, plus a shitload of Physics homework, and a new Pre-Calc teacher, and all that other stuff. So school hasn't been too friendly with me this week. Plus, i had to go to my borther's friend's Super Bowl party on Sunday, watched the Steelers lose :(, and had some exboyfriend issues... u don't wanna know; it's confusing.**

**And, on top of all that, I have been really hooked on waterwicca's "Past The Sorrow." To say it's amazing is an understatement. It's full of angst, romance, friendship, drama, family, love, smut, tragedy, and everything in between, which makes it so good. Plus, it's so beautifully written by waterwicca, who I'm praying is reading this right now. Seriously, go read it and review for every chapter. She loves to hear feedback :D And in honor of that, that's the only story i'll be promoting to you guys today, because it's so amazing. I've probably said that five times now, but it is. So check it out, now! Wait, not now. Read this and review first, then check it out :P**

**Buuuttt, despite all that, I never forgot about this. I started four or five different prompts for this chapter before settling on this one, even though i feel that the story is rushed now. But I've really wanted to get to this _one_ part, and you'll see why towards the end. You're gonna love it :D**

**And, a new character is intrpduced in this chapter! Stephanie King! Somewhat, i'll include her more as the story goes on. No more OC's for now. In fact, there probably won't be anymore OC's in here for a while, because I want to keep major ones as minimal as possible. I'll probably just leave it at Amber, Will, Jo's family (who you'll meet sometime soon :D), a few minor appearances from Natalie, and that'll be it.**

**Alright, enough rambling for one day. I'll shut up and let you guys read. Be sure to check out "Past The Sorrow" when you get the chance! Happy Reading :D**

**Disclaimer**: Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. All songs I mention belong to their rightful owners. All title rights go to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

* * *

"Come on, Jo, get up there!" Camille exclaimed to me late that night.

"No!" I fought back.

"Yes!" she retorted.

"I don't sing!" I continued to argue.

"So? Neither do half the people in here!" she exclaimed.

"Come on, go," Kendall spoke up from next to me. Oh, bad move, buddy. "What can it hurt?" he added.

"Everyone's ears," I answered.

"Oh, looks like we have a taker!" the emcee shouted before I could respond. I looked up to see him pointing to a table way, way far away from ours. Hallelujah! A guy wearing skater clothes and a green beanie ran up and hopped up on the stage, taking the microphone out of the emcees hands. Whew, that was close.

Now, who else is confused here? Yup, me too, and I was part of the planning of this little get together, if you'd call it that.

The rest of the day went okay, or as okay as it could get. The rest of the morning shift sucked, to say the least. I had orange juice spilled on me by a little kid (twice), and then one of the other waiters had to leave work early for a family emergency, so I had to take on his tables. I had texted Kendall a little bit throughout work, but not too much. He was at sound check meanwhile, so he was also busy.

We had been texting each other on and off throughout the day. After sound check, he and the guys had a photo shoot with Teen Vogue, followed by a phone-radio interview with Z100 New York. As for me… I went out to lunch with Camille, and then started a ten-page term paper due on Monday. That's something.

Somehow, Kendall decided it would be a wonderful idea to ask me to go with him and the guys to a karaoke bar. Why? It was something fun the guys would like to do on weekends back in Los Angeles, and even back home in Minnesota, and there was one right in town they wanted to check out while here. He asked me if I've ever been there, to which I said no. So, this was what he texted back:

_Why don't we check it out tonight? :)  
__-Kendall_

So, that leads to where I am now, sitting in the middle of the local karaoke bar, Karaoke Dokie. I heard descent things about this place, but never actually went. All I knew was that it was part of a huge chain, and anyone can come in for some good food and mediocre entertainment. Wuh-hoo.

Kendall said I could bring along a couple friends, but I only brought Camille. For two reasons: one, so I wouldn't feel like a complete outsider, and two, she'd kill me if I didn't. Reasonable explanations, right? Plus, Carlos' girlfriend Stephanie flew out and surprised the boys earlier today by coming down here before they left for New York, or wherever their next stop was. She would be doing a couple interviews and press junkets for her upcoming movie this week while the boys had some shows lined up. The two of us got to talking for a few minutes while the emcee took notice of the band and tried to get the guys up to sing. She seemed so laid back and down to earth. Mixed with Carlos' exciting and carefree attitude, the two of them made a perfect couple.

The night had been fun so far. First was the Big Time Rush concert with Amber, Will, Natalie, and Amber's roommate. Nothing different from last night, except that Kendall threw all of his guitar picks out into the crowd, rather than saving one for a special fan (moi). Then there was the meet-and-greet, where, again, nothing different happened.

We met the guys about an hour later at Karaoke Dokie, and have been here ever since. We snacked on sliders and French fries as we watched people sing, or argued with the emcee about going up to sing ourselves. With the Super Bowl game tomorrow (Go Steelers!), a lot of people sang "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" by Queen, and some Black Eyed Peas songs, since they were performing during the halftime show. Right now, that skater-kid was singing that "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" song, which seemed to get a rise out of everyone in the room.

"Let's give it up for Matt," the emcee shouted from his DJ booth as the skater-kid bowed and everyone applauded him. "Alright, who's up next?" he asked the crowd again.

"Jo is!" I heard Camille exclaim from next to me. I felt her hand grab my wrist and yank it up in the air as the guy up on stage turned to us.

"Camille!" I hissed, trying to pull my arm down.

"Alright, we have someone!" the emcee cheered. Damn Camille.

"No you don't!" I shouted back to him.

There were a few Aw's heard around the building, including some from James and Carlos. No added pressure or anything. "Come on, Jo!" the two eager boys exclaimed.

"Yeah, go up there," Camille interjected. "You have a good voice," she added.

"No I don't!" I argued.

She nodded. "Yeah you do! You sing along to the songs on _Glee_ all the time, and during the _VH1 Top 20 Countdown_-"

"Camille, shut it!" I said through gritted teeth. She ignored me. Typical of her, but you probably know that by now.

"And, you mentioned that you sung in a few talent shows or something back home, right?" Camille continued. I swear, I'm on the verge of killing this bitch right now.

"No, Camille-"

"Come on, go!" Kendall interrupted. I went to glare at him, but he continued talking. "You can't be worse than that dude who sang Britney Spears earlier," he said encouragingly. Ooh. I shuddered just thinking about it. Trust me, you don't want to know what happened.

The emcee spoke in his microphone again. "So, what do you say…?" he asked urgently. There were a few more encouraging words shouted across the restaurant before I finally decided to go up onto the stage. Cheers were heard all throughout the building, the loudest of them being from my table. Whoopie.

I got up and went onto the stage, which resembled a bit of a runway, like the ones you see during Fashion Week. There were a couple large, plasma screen televisions near the stage that showcased the words of whatever song that was playing. I got up onto the platform that was behind the runway and stood behind the microphone stand, sending a glare towards my table. "You're dead to me," I said in a low, menacing voice (mostly in Camille's direction), but also joking as I said it. You get what I mean.

"Love you too, Joanna," Camille called as the rest of the club snickered. Oh, now, she's really dead.

"Alright, we have Joanna up next," the emcee started.

"Jo," I corrected him before sending another quick glare in Camille's direction. She and everyone else seemed to be getting a kick out of my soon-to-come humiliation.

"Alright, _Jo_ is up at the mike," he said, emphasizing my name. "What do you wanna sing tonight?" he asked me.

I thought for a quick second before answering. "'Mine' by Taylor Swift," I answered confidently. I loved her songs, and knew that a lot of people would sing along to it, taking most of the attention off of me for a while. Yeah, that would work.

"Alright, a little country action tonight; let's give it up for her!" he exclaimed excitedly, a few scattered hollers following him.

I nodded and smiled as he went to his computer to find the song. "Time to show you how Southerners break it down," I said in the microphone, unzipping the brown hoodie I was wearing, leaving me in a black tank top and jeans. Camille had complained to me all day that I looked too plain, but I wanted to wear something comfortable, and didn't want to bother changing before the boys' show tonight. But, in order to shut her up, I had put on a few small pieces of jewelry before coming to Karaoke Dokie.

A few more cheers were heard, specifically from my table, as I tossed the hoodie off toward the side. Yes, our whole group knew I was from North Carolina. Camille thought it would be necessary to tell everyone where I was from. Why… I still don't know. The emcee made a comment then, something about sexy country stars, or a Taylor Swift in training. Again, I don't know. It earned a small laugh from the crowd before the music started. "Let's juice her up!" he exclaimed in his mike one last time before the first verse started. Um, okay?

_You were in college working part time waiting tables.  
__Left a small town, never looked back.  
__I was a flight risk with a fear of falling,  
__Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts._

"Yeah, Jo!" I heard one of the guys call from our table. It sounded like James, but I couldn't tell. I glanced over quickly, seeing the others start to clap along and cheer me on. I caught Kendall's gaze, seeing and hearing him repeat what James had just said. I ducked my head as I felt my face turn red. Again, I blame him for that.

_I say 'Can you believe it?'  
__As we're lying on the couch.  
__The moment, I can see it  
__Yes, yes, I can see it now._

As the music picked up, I pulled the microphone out of its stand, holding it at a diagonal slant as I continued. The crowd cheered a little louder at that, causing me to smile a little.

_Do you remember, we were sitting there by the water?  
__You put your arm around me for the first time.  
__You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter.  
__You are the best thing that's ever been mine._

I stood the mike stand straight up and started to slowly walk down the runway part of the stage, earning more applause and cheers from the crowd as I made my way down. Our table was off to the side, giving me an idea for when the chorus came up.

_Flash forward and we're taking on the world together,  
__And there's a drawer of my things at your place.  
__You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded.  
__You say we'll never make my parents' mistakes._

_We've got bills to pay,  
__We've got nothing figured out,  
__When it was hard to take,  
__Yes, yes, this is what I thought about._

Not realizing what I was doing, I jumped off of the runway and onto our group's table. Why? Because I was an idiot and didn't know any better, that's why. I was laughed at and applauded by everyone in the room, even getting a couple high-fives from the guys at or around our table. Including Kendall. My stunt definitely earned a few whoops and cheers from the rest of the crowd. Ooh, that deserves a few brownie points, doesn't it?

_Do you remember, we were sitting there by the water?  
__You put your arm around me for the first time  
__You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter.  
__You are the best thing that's ever been mine._

_Do you remember all the city lights on the water?  
__You saw me start to believe for the first time  
__You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
__You are the best thing that's ever been mine._

_Oh, oh, oh_

"Yeah, Jo! Whoo!" Camille squealed as the chorus ended. I laughed and I hopped off the table, jumping back on the runway portion of the stage.

_And I remember that fight, two-thirty a.m.  
__As everything was slipping right out of our hands,  
__I ran out crying and you followed me out into the street._

_Braced myself for the goodbye,  
_'_Cause that's all I've ever known.  
__Then you took me by surprise.  
__You said, "I'll never leave you alone."_

I was back where I had started the song earlier, placing the microphone back on its stand as the music slowed and the chorus started up again. I looked out to the crowd to see Kendall up on his feet and cheering me on, his hands cupped over his mouth. I couldn't hear exactly what he said, but it still made my face go hot and turn a deep crimson color. Damn, why does he make me blush so much? Everyone else in the crowd soon followed his example, clapping and dancing along, kind of like that karaoke scene in _High School Musical_. Yeah, I watch that movie. Sue me! Zac Efron was hot, and even that Corbin Bleu guy was really good looking, too. Er, I mean, I love Ashton Kutcher, not Disney guys.

_You said, "I remember how we felt sitting by the water  
_"_And every time I look at you, it's like the first time  
_"_I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter  
_"_She is the best thing that's ever been mine"_

_You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
__You are the best thing that's ever been mine_

_(Hold on) Do you believe it?  
__(Hold on) We're gonna make it now  
__(Hold on) I can see it  
__(Yes, yes) I can see it now…_

As the music faded, the applause I received grew louder. I felt myself blush and duck my head as the emcee announced my name one last time and I jogged back to our table. "I can't believe I just did that!" I exclaimed as Stephanie quickly pulling me in for a congratulatory embrace.

"You were so good, though!" she said, pulling away from me. "Why don't you sing more often?" she asked.

"Because I don't," I answered vaguely, moving back around her to my seat. Camille went and hugged me and congratulated me once more. Before I reached my seat after pulling away, I felt yet another pair of arms wrap around my waist and pull me tight to their body. When I felt another shiver run right through me, I realized it was Kendall, and involuntarily wrapped my arms around his neck, accepting the embrace. I heard him say something along the lines of great job, thaning him before I pulled my chair back out and sat in it, trying to hide my face meanwhile.

The emcee spoke up again once the applause died down. "Now, Jo over there came from the table of Big Time Rush," he announced, making all of us turn up to him. "I say we try one last time to get the guys up here..." he said in an encouraging tone to the crowd.

Before we knew it, some of the bar goers started chanting the band's name, including a few cheers of encouragement from other people in the crowd. Meanwhile, the guys were debating in hushed tones that we could surprisingly hear over the loud voices. Logan kept on saying something about a guy named Gustavo, and how he would feel about it. James was eager to get up and perform again that night, and Carlos was stuck in the middle, saying that he would be happy either way. He didn't mind singing again, but he also wanted to spend some time with Stephanie. How sweet!

That left Kendall to break the tie. He turned to me, as I was back in my seat next to him. "Go up there. I sang, so you guys have to, now," I responded to his unasked question. Ugh, it was like I was reading this guy's mind now. I wasn't liking where this friendship was taking us.

He smirked. "It's only fair, right?" he asked, arching one of his very expressive eyebrows. God, he looked cute when he did that. Grrr, focus now.

"It's only fair," I responded.

Kendall smiled and stood up, turning to the guys. "Let's get up there, boys," he said.

James and Carlos instantly complied, while Logan shook his head and slowly stood up. "I have to get new friends," I heard him mumble, a smirk playing on his thin lips.

"Do you always have to say that?" Stephanie asked with a small laugh. The raven-haired singer just ignored the brunette and followed his buddies up to the brightly lit stage.

* * *

"Shit, I have to get back to the dorm," I announced about a half hour later, tucking my phone back into my jeans pocket. It was nearly eleven o'clock. The guys ended up "going old school," as James put it, singing an old NSync song I recognized from my childhood. It was a hit and everyone loved it. Their voices went with the song perfectly, and their harmonies sounded great.

"So soon?" I heard James playfully whine.

I chuckled. "Yeah, I have to finish up this huge paper due Monday," I said, standing up from my spot.

Camille followed my actions, disappointment written across her facial features. It wouldn't be visible to anyone else, but like I mentioned earlier, Camille and I had grown to be each other's sisters, and I could read her better than anyone else around here. "I'll go, too," she said, going to grab her coat from behind her chair.

"No, you stay if you want to," I said, shaking my head a bit.

"No, I should be heading back also. I don't want to stay and make everyone else feel awkward having a random person sit with them," she fought back.

I noticed Logan shrug his shoulders. "Stay anyway," he said, smiling a little.

That was enough for her to change her mind. She looked back up at me, a somewhat hopeful look on her face that again, only I could tell. "Jo...?" she asked a little expectantly.

"I'll see you later," I said chuckling, putting my jacket on over me.

She smiled and wrapped both arms around me. "Thank you!" she whispered excitedly to me. "I'll see you later," she said in her usual tone before taking her seat back.

Soon enough, the other guys and Stephanie stood up, giving me a quick hug and another "good job" on my performance earlier before sending me off. Stephanie mentioned that we should keep in touch and that she would hopefully see me around later. I smiled and said the same thing back, silently hoping that as well. She was so nice, and was one of the nicest girls I have met, and hoped to see her sometime soon. Kendall was the last to hug me or say anything to me. I didn't think much of it until he said, "Come on, I'll walk you out."

I smiled. "Thanks," I said before waving goodbye to our table again and following Kendall out of the building.

"So, you had fun tonight?" he asked as we made our way around a few tables.

I nodded. "Yeah, I did," I said, smiling. "You were really great up there," I added, thinking that that would be the appropriate, and honest, thing to say.

I heard him scoff. "Thanks. But you were, wow," he said.

I ducked my head again as I felt myself blush. "Stop-"

"No, you were good," he said smiling. I looked up at him, seeing something in his bright green eyes, I couldn't pinpoint what, that showed he was being completely honest.

"Thanks," I uttered sheepishly.

We were outside a second later, the bitter thirty-degree weather hitting us head on as we neared the bus station that was literally steps away from Karaoke Dokie's main entrance. Yes, I had to take a bus back home. Freshmen weren't allowed to have cars on campus, and there weren't any taxi cabs in the area, so I was stuck taking the NJ Transit back to my dorm. I noticed Kendall shiver as we reached the area. He only wore a black unzipped hoodie over a blue t-shirt, leaving his jacket inside for the timebeing.

"Go inside," I told him as we reached the bus stop. "You're freezing out here," I added.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'll be fine for another minute or two," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"No, go," I said, playfully shoving his shoulder. "There's a bus coming anyway," I said, noticing one just down the road that was beginning to slow down.

"Fine," he sighed after looking to see that, in fact, there was a bus coming up. He opened his arms out for a hug. I giggled and stepped into his embrace, feeling myself shake again. "You're freezing, too," he said with a chuckle. Crap, he noticed.

"Just a little," I said in the same tone. We pulled away, finding ourselves locked in each other's eyes.

Before we knew it, we were leaning in, our eyes closed and lips gently brushing against one anothers in a sweet kiss. We pulled apart a second later, before leaning in and kissing again. This time, I felt butterflies dance around my stomach, and my heart rate double its usual pace. My hand found itself hovering over his chest, and I could feel his own heart beat. As fast and as hard as mine was. Why was it beating so fast? Why was his beating as fast as mine? Even worse, why was my hand on his chest?

I ripped my lips away from his, snatching my hand away from his chest. "I-I'm sorry, I can't do this," I said, not bothering to look in his eyes.

"Jo, wait-"

"I have to go," I cut him off, turning around to rush toward the bus, which had thankfully come to a stop and had its doors wide open.

"Jo!" I heard him exclaim, but I was already stepping on and rushing toward a seat where I wouldn't be able to see the look on his face. I quickly buried my face in my hands, resting my elbows on my knees. That wasn't supposed to happen! I let myself have fun with Kendall and his friends tonight, and it ended up with us locking lips, when he was leaving tomorrow and would forget about me within twenty-four hours. This wasn't what I wanted! The bus started moving shortly after, leaving a very confused Kendall behind in the cold, and taking an even more confused me away from him.

Holy shit.

* * *

**In the words of Jo Taylor...  
Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! They kissed? Even I wasn't expecting that, and i fuckin' wrote this!**

**Review?**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm writing this as i watch The Justin Bieber Experience sing "Somebody To Love" on _Glee_. And, i'm not a huge fan of JB personally, but the guys are doing REALLY well tonight on the show :D Sorry, just had to put that in there...**

**So yeah, i won't stall any longer. Enjoy:**

**Disclaimer: **Eh, don't feel like copying and pasting right now. You know what I do and don't own...

* * *

"What the fuck did you do to Kendall last night?" Camille exclaimed the next morning, entering our dorm room with wet hair and a change of clothes.

"Good morning to you, too," I said, looking up from my laptop.

Last night… gah! I don't even want to think about it. The whole bus ride home consisted of missed text messages and phone calls from Kendall. I felt so bad ignoring him, but could you blame me? I had no fucking idea what to do, or say. We kissed, and I just left him in the dust. Well, technically the bus driver did- oh, you get what I mean? Now, what was I going to do?

I turned off my phone for the rest of the night, ignoring all ways of contacting him, or Camille. Once I got the first text message from her, I shut my phone off immediately.

When I got back to the dorm, I changed into a pair of yoga pants and a red camisole, going to my bed to start the second half of my term paper. I was a paragraph or two into it before closing my laptop completely and lying in bed. I couldn't get my mind off of that kiss. It felt really nice, I'll admit it. But still, it shouldn't have happened! He was leaving the next day to perform at Penn State, along with one or two more schools. The guys were on a high school/college tour that was sponsored by Cuda Men's Care, mostly because James used every single one of their products and was a spokesperson for the company a couple months back. That's why they had stopped at NJU and performed here. But that's beside the point. The point is that we kissed, and now, I was extremely confused as to where we stood.

I tossed and turned in bed until I heard the lock click on our door. I quickly closed my eyes and feigned sleep as Camille stepped in, calling my name as she did so. She must have noticed that I was asleep (or I faked it very well), because she went and changed into a pair of pajamas and watched a rerun of Jersey Shore. The last thing I remembered was hearing a party going on in the background and Snooki screaming something at someone before finally falling asleep myself.

Camille woke up before me the next morning, leaving to take a shower and get ready for the day. So, when I woke up and noticed she wasn't there, I took the opportunity to work on my term paper again. My head was clearer, and I could concentrate a little more. Maybe I could finish this before work this afternoon!

"Don't 'good morning' me, bitch!" she exclaimed. "What did you fucking do to Kendall Knight, part of the hottest band in the freakin' country, to make him upset all fucking night long?" she yelled at me. Okay, you're pissed. Got it.

"I didn't do anything," I said nonchalantly, continuing to type.

"You did something!" she nearly shouted, sitting on my bed now. Um, what's wrong with yours? Privacy issues. "He came back in looking… defeated, I guess, and wouldn't stop texting or looking at his phone for like, twenty minutes. And I saw he was texting you the entire fucking time," she explained to me.

A wave of guilt washed over me. I tried to shake it off, but still wanted to know what happened with him. "Did he cheer up at all?" I asked, finishing off whatever paragraph I was on.

"Yeah, he was fine all night. We were there for another hour after you left, and he was laughing and singing along to everyone. But he still wouldn't stop checking his phone every two minutes," she ended in a sad tone. "But you…" she started loudly, shoving my shoulder. "What did you do to make him so upset?" she asked.

I sighed and closed my laptop. "We kissed," I answered solemnly.

Her whole face lit up. "Shut. Up," she said. I nodded, but didn't smile. "Shut up, shut up!" she continued to chant.

"Camille," I hissed, trying to shut _her_ up instead.

"Sorry," she apologized, still smiling. "How? Tell me everything! Don't leave out a single detail!" she rushed.

I smirked and shrugged my shoulders. I moved my laptop to the side and brought my knees to my chest. "It started out as nothing, really," I said, smiling as the night played through my mind for the umpteenth time that morning. Wait, no! No smiling. "We talked a little bit as we walked out of the place, and joked around a bit. And as we got outside, a bus was pulling up. So, he gave me a hug goodbye, as any guy would do, right?" I questioned. She nodded, letting me continue. "And, I guess as we were letting go of each other… it just happened," I ended, somehow finding something very intriguing about my bed sheets as I kept my gaze down.

"Well, that's a good thing, then," Camille said in her usual, optimistic tone. I shook my head, imagining a very puzzled look appearing on her face. "What happened after?" she asked concerned.

"I just turned him away," I answered, shrugging my shoulders again and looking up at her. "I kept on thinking that it wasn't supposed to happen, and that it wasn't right. I mean, he's fucking leaving later today for another show tonight. How do you know he's not going to do the same exact thing with someone out in Pennsylvania, or New York, or Hawaii, or any other place the band goes?" I asked her. "I can't deal with another bad relationship!" I finished. I then instantly regretted what I said.

"So you do like him?" Camille asked in a happy, eager tone.

"Not the point!" I said through gritted teeth, reaching behind and throwing a pillow at the brunette.

She laughed and set it aside. "So, how are you going to deal with this, ignore Kendall, who was devastated last night when he came back inside and you ignored his calls and texts?" she asked.

"That was the plan?" I responded, ending it almost like a question.

"You are retarded!" she exclaimed, jumping up off my bed.

I felt my jaw drop down to the floor. "Come again?" I asked.

She went towards our nightstand. "Where's your phone?" she asked, already rummaging through the piles of magazines and other junk we had on there.

"Don't ignore me," I ordered, angrily. I normally never got pissy over something as simple as that. Hell, she does it all the time!

"Where is that phone?" she asked herself, still looking through the stuff.

"Why do you want it so badly anyway?" I asked, getting out of bed and moving towards our closet. I already knew the answer, but it could have also been for a different reason. Wouldn't hurt to ask, right?

"Duh, I want to see what he fucking texted you!" she said before moving on to the vanity table. "Bingo," I heard her say a second later.

I turned to face her as she opened it. "No!" I exclaimed running over and trying to grab the phone out of her hands.

A minute later found me stealing her cell phone in retaliation, leading to her inevitable pounce on me. We are now wrestling on the floor, and I mean legitimate wrestling. Rolling on the floor, hair pulling, bitch slapping, trash talk, the whole nine yards. Any guy that walked in would love the scene.

Speak of the devil. "Oh yeah…" we heard Will's voice chuckle from the doorway. We stopped abruptly and looked in that direction, seeing none other than our black-haired, glasses wearing friend leaning against our doorframe. "Oh no, continue, please. Don't let me interrupt your fight here," he said, amused.

"William Bennett," I groaned as I moved to get off of Camille.

"Jozilla," he retorted back.

I glared back up at him. "Touché," I muttered, lending a hand to Camille to help her up. "What are you doing here anyway?" I asked him as Camille stood up.

Will moved off the doorframe and started moving into our room. "I was on my way to Amber's room, but I heard screaming going on in here, so I figured I'd check it out and make sure you guys weren't killing each other," he explained, a smug smile tugging on the corners of his lips. "What were you guys even fighting about?" he asked.

"Nothing," I answered casually, sending a quick glare to Camille. She nodded back in understanding.

"Looked like something," Will commented, now leaning against one of our walls.

Camille spoke up. "She just stole my cell phone and refused to give it back to me," the brunette answered. Oh sure, put all the blame on me.

The fellow freshmen shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever, I'm off to Amber's," he said, moving towards the door. "Later!" he called.

"Later," Camille and I called simultaneously as he stepped out of the room and out into the corridors of our dormitory's floor.

The brunette looked back to me, handing back my cell phone. "Look, Turner emailed the whole cast and wants us back in the theater today for dress rehearsal," she started. Professor John Turner was the theater director at the school. "I'll be out for most of the day. But _promise_ me you'll text Kendall back at some point today," she said, a hopeful look in her brown eyes. "He really looked upset last night, so just try talking to him a little later," she added. Damn, she's good. She knew how to make anyone feel guilty about their actions. Even if it was something as simple as missing a homework assignment, she'd turn it around and turn it into an even worse situation, if that were even possible.

After a quick pause, I sighed and nodded. "Okay…" I answered.

"Atta girl," she smiled, giving me a reassuring hug. I wrapped my arms around her as she spoke. "I promise you that this will all work out," she said in her most promising and cheerful tone of voice. This was another one of the reasons I loved talking to Camille so much. On top of the guilt she could plague on someone, she could cheer someone up in a heartbeat.

"Let's hope," I said, pulling away from her grasp. "But thank you anyways," I smiled back at her.

She smiled back. "See you later," she said before leaving me again.

I said bye to her once more before going back to my bed. I turned on my phone with shaking fingers, nervous as to what I'd find on there.

A moment later, as I changed into a pair of jeans and fitted gray hoodie, it vibrated wildly to life, signaling the missing calls and text messages I've received. When I went back to check my phone, the screen flashed in front of me, showing what I had missed the previous night.

_From Kendall:  
19 text messages  
11 missed calls  
4 voicemails_

_From Camille:  
2 text messages  
1 missed call  
1 voicemail_

Wow, this was bad. I decided to get the voicemails out of the way first. Makes sense, right? They were probably the worst. After I punched in my pass code, I pressed the phone up to my ear and closed my eyes, bracing what he would say.

"Jo, hey, it's Kendall," he started. No shit, Sherlock. "Look, I'm so sorry about what happened at the bus stop. I have no idea what came over me, or what came over us… just, please call me back. We need to talk."

"Hey, it's Kendall again. We really need to talk. I feel terrible about what happened. Well, not terrible. I actually really liked the kiss, and it seemed like you did, too- but that's not the point." I heard a stressful sigh before he continued. "Please call me back."

"Jo, it's Camille." Oh, so this is Camille's. This should be pleasant. "Hey, turn your fucking phone on, bitch! You did something to Kendall, I know you did!" See what I mean? "He looks upset and is checking his phone every five seconds. He's hiding it pretty well from the guys, but I can see it, and he won't stop texting you. He won't even say anything to me, so resort whatever issue you guys had. Now!" I couldn't help but laugh as I erased the voicemail and moved on to the next.

"Come on, Jo." This one was from Kendall, his tone sounding stressed. "I really need to talk to you, okay? I don't know what got you so upset earlier tonight, but…" he trailed off. I bit my lip nervously as he continued. "Call me," he ended sadly.

"Jo, its Kendall," the last voicemail started. He sounded really distressed and upset in this one. "Please… call me back."

"End of new messages," the automated voice in my phone said a short moment later. I sighed and hung up, going to my text messages. All of them were very similar to the voicemails. I couldn't explain the guilt that washed over me right then and there. No one should have to feel that guilty about anything, they shouldn't! It's the worst feeling in the world.

Not knowing what else to do, I sat back on my bed and continued working on my assignment. With this and work later, I was bound to take the situation off my mind somehow, right?

* * *

A few hours later, I was back at Jack's Diner, doing my usual afternoon shift. My report was almost done, about another page and a half to go. I could easily finish it and print out by the end of the night. High school and college students littered the dining room, along with a few families and elderly couples stopping for lunch after church service. It was crowded, but not too bad. I've dealt with worse.

With the Super Bowl game on tonight, Jack and Jenny took the opportunity to decorate the restaurant with anything football related. Banners, football-shaped balloons, even football-themed dishes on the Specials chalkboard at the front of the building. Green, black, and yellow streamers were on the walls to support the Steelers and Packers, and all the televisions were turned on to ESPN and Fox for all game coverage. This place would be extremely packed around dinnertime, when the actual game started. Like I cared – I wouldn't even be here later!

I was wiping down the granite countertop of the bar when a young gentleman, possibly in his early-twenties, sat down at a nearby empty barstool. Then again, how would I know? He had his hood pulled over his head (already covered by a beanie) and dark sunglasses covering his eyes. I could barely see his face. "Just a second, sir," I said to him as I finished off the surface.

"Jo?" he asked warily. I looked up to see Kendall, his jacket and sunglasses removed, looking up at me nervously. One look in his eyes made me turn to putty. They showed so many emotions right now: worry, nerves, shyness, worry, hope, scared, worry, guilt, worry… did I mention worry? That wave of guilt I felt earlier with Camille washed right over me once again.

I looked down and continued rubbing circles into the counter with the washcloth in my hands. "What do you want?" I asked, the question sounding more bitter than I had wanted it to be.

"You're avoiding me," he stated simply.

I scoffed. "Oh really?" I asked.

"Be nice," he said in a light warning tone. Okay, so he doesn't sound too mad at me. That's a start.

"I'll think about it," I replied with a quick shrug of my shoulders. I heard him laugh as I placed the rag on the counter space behind me. "Where's the rest of the band?" I asked as I leaned against the counter in front of him. Hey, at least I was playing nice like he asked.

"Back at the hotel, probably ordering room service before we hit the road," he answered nonchalantly.

"And why aren't you with them?" I asked.

"Because I wanted to come and talk to you about…" he trailed off.

"Yeah, got it," I said, ducking my head to hide the guilt that showed on my face. "How'd you know I'd be here?" I asked, slowly looking up to meet his gaze.

"I didn't," he answered, a sheepish look gracing his features. God, he looked adorable when he was embarrassed. "I uh... when you didn't call, I figured I'd come to your school and track you down. But when I got there, I ran into Camille over by the theater maybe twenty minutes ago, and she told me that you would be working here," he explained.

Stalker. "Stalker," I accused jokingly.

"Better me than some pervert, right?" he answered back.

I smiled. "I'll get back to you on that," I responded. He smiled and laughed a little, taking the comment lightly. Good, keep going, maybe this will take his mind off of his main reason for coming here.

"Alright, enough stalling," he suggested. Darnit, so close! "We really need to talk about last night," he said to me.

I nodded silently. "Yeah, we do," I sighed, agreeing.

"Table 8's order," one of the chefs interrupted us, bringing a tray of food out for me to deliver.

I sighed again. "That's one of my tables," I told Kendall.

He nodded in understanding. "Go," he reassured me.

I smiled in thanks before disappearing to deliver the food. I came back a moment later, seeing a menu out in front of him, and a couple preteen girls standing by as he signed a napkin for them. Aw. Once he noticed I was back, he sent the girls off with a thanks and a quick hug goodbye before turning back to me.

"So…" he started.

"So…" I repeated and leaned on the counter again, not knowing exactly where to start. I mean, where could I – I'm sorry for kissing you last night? I'm sorry for running away? I'm sorry for ignoring your phone calls? Eh, I guess any of those could work, despite his hatred of the word 'sorry.' Oh well, sucks for him. "I'm really sorry," I said.

"For what?" he asked.

"You're seriously asking that?" I questioned him. He chuckled. "I guess everything that happened. The kiss, the running off, the ignored texts and calls…" I trailed off.

Kendall's face lit up a bit. "Well, it's not all your fault," he said, a friendly, reassuring smile on his face. Man, those dimples really did light up his face. "I mean, you weren't the only one there, right?" he said with a slight laugh.

I shrugged. "I suppose," I said, smiling wider.

"Yeah, exactly, so, you aren't the only one to blame in this situation," he said.

"Then who else is there – James? Logan?" I asked, standing up off the countertop.

He smirked. "Ha ha, very funny," he said sarcastically, ending with a laugh. I chuckled back before it quickly died down and the mood became serious again, thanks to Kendall. Cue the dramatic music. "But, what I wanna know is why you ran off like that, though," he said. No, don't bring that up! I feel guilty enough as it is, I don't need to think about it again! "I mean, was the kiss itself that bad?" he ended jokingly.

At least it wasn't too serious between us anymore. I snickered at his last remark before answering. I looked up, my dark brown eyes meeting his green ones, filled with curiosity and concern. Well, better than the worried expression on his face earlier, right? "It's just… my last relationship didn't end well," I told him honestly. "And, I'm not too sure I want to expose myself to dating or anything like that so soon," I admitted.

He nodded understandingly. Yay, that wasn't so hard. "How bad?" he asked.

I sighed and shook my head. "You don't wanna know," I told him, chuckling towards the end.

"What if I do?" Kendall asked.

"Believe me, you don't," I answered.

He sat back, holding his hands up as if he were surrendering. "Fine," he said. "Then I won't tell you something as equally interesting and riveting about my life," he continued.

"Who said I did?" I retorted back.

"Oh," he laughed.

I took it as a compliment. "Thanks, I try," I said in a witty, confident tone.

"Sure you do," he responded. Hey!

"Hey!" I said, feigning anger and insult.

"You asked for it," he responded.

"Whatever," I muttered with a sigh. He laughed a little, but as quick as it came, it died down. No, keep laughing, I don't want it to be all serious-y again.

"All joking aside, I really am sorry about making you so uncomfortable last night," Kendall apologized. "Anything I can do to make it up to you?" he asked. Aw…

I smiled and looked up at the clock hung on the wall near us. It was close to 1:30 at this point. I turned back to Kendall and smiled. "Tell you what," I started.

"Oh boy," he interjected.

"Hey, be nice!" I exclaimed, feigning insult. He sat back and held his hands up again, silently apologizing. "How about I join you for lunch right now, and we'll call it even?" I suggested, biting my lower lip as I finished. Did I seriously just try to ask out Kendall Knight?

He nodded. "I'd like that," he answered.

I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding. "Good," I answered, pulling out my notepad. "Now, can I _please_ get your order so I don't get in trouble for stalling?" I asked.

He pouted. "Can't we continue this?" he asked me, his dimples lighting up his face again.

Aw, how can I say no to that? "Not if I want to keep this job," I answered sadly.

"Fine," he said with a sigh, glancing at the miniature specials menu out in front of him. "I'll get the Packer-packed turkey club," he told me. Hey, I said the meals on the menu were Super Bowl-themed, I didn't ay they were clever.

"Ah, so you're a Packers fan," I said as I wrote his order down.

"Damn straight," he answered confidently. "Local team for us Minnesotians," he added.

"The Packers are in Wisconsin, genius," I retorted.

He cocked an eyebrow. "So? It's the next state over. That's good enough," he argued. "What about you- wait, don't tell me…" he said.

I smirked. "Go Steelers," I responded, giggling. And here we go again with the giggling.

"Come on!"

* * *

**Alright, i hope i did this justice. Not too crazy about the ending, but i didn't want it to go any longer. Reasonable, right? That's what i thought. Please review? I'd really appreciate it.**

**PS: (too tired to edit right now, and _Glee_'s on, and I'm not in the mood to fix this :P Any grammatical errors or anything will be fixed sometime tomorrow (already fixed!))  
**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	10. Chapter 10

**Holy! over 6000 words! this has to be the longest chapter i've written yet. And the best. I'm very proud of it, andhow it turned out. Lots of KendallxJo fluff, a peak into Jo's past with Jett, and other great stuff. You're really gonna love it!**

**The flashback in the beginningon the chapter is somewhat based off Chapter 8 in surfergal23's smutty oneshot series, "Memories Of A Lifetime." It's one of the sweetest stories in the BTR thread, and i strongly suggest you guys read it. I promise, you're gonna love it :D**

**Alright, enough rambling. Happy Reading!**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing except NJU.

_

* * *

_

_April 2009 (Junior Year)_

_"Okay… should I wear this?" I asked my best friend Michelle, turning around to face her. I had a floral tank top held up over my chest and a denim miniskirt in front of my hips._

_The brunette, who was sprawled out across my bed, looked up from the latest issue of People that she was reading. "Eh," she said, shrugging her shoulders._

_I glared at her. "Thanks buddy," I said, turning to put the two hangers back in my closet. It was Friday afternoon, the last day of school before Spring Break, meaning tonight was the night of Garner High School's annual Spring Fling. Much like our school's homecoming, the dance was held outside on the faculty parking lot, with a DJ booth, refreshments, and anything else you'd expect at a school dance. It wasn't a formal event, so we were supposed to "dress for success," as the student council had called it._

_She smiled. "You're welcome," she said, turning back to the Lady Gaga article she was reading. "Why are you so obsessed on what to wear tonight?" I heard her ask. "You were never this crazy about a school dance before," she added._

_"I know," I sighed, turning around and joining her on my bed. "It's just…" I collapsed on my back and looked up at the lilac-colored ceiling. "It's my one year anniversary with Jett," I started._

_"And…?" she questioned interestingly._

_I sighed again. "Well… after the dance, Jett and I were gonna go back to his house and…" I trailed off, hoping she'd get where I was going._

_"No way," she said, throwing the magazine on the floor._

_I bit my lip. "Way?" I said, more as a question then a statement._

_"How?" she asked, resting on her forearms now. "I mean, weren't we all supposed to go to his house after…?" she trailed off, then paused as realization hit her. "Ewww!" she exclaimed. "While we're all watching movies at his house?" she asked._

_"Shhh!" I quickly shut her. "Could you be any louder? My parents and fucking seven year old sister are home!" I informed her._

_"Sorry," she said, her voice much softer than before. "Still, aren't your guys' parents super strict about you two having sleepovers?" she asked. I nodded in response. We had set rules for when one of us slept over. Both parents had to be home, and the bedroom door has to be wide open._

_"And we've already worked it out," I started explaining to Michelle. "His parents are away on their own anniversary trip or something, and they aren't going to be home until Sunday. They know we're all coming over tonight, and my parents trust us enough to not do anything with you guys around," I told her._

_"But still! I don't wanna hear you guys fucking each other up," she said, still speaking softly._

_"That's why we're going to watch movies in the basement. And when everyone falls asleep, we're gonna head up to his room and spend the night up there," I went on._

_Michelle nodded. "Alright, that's not too bad," she agreed. "But still, while we're in the house?"_

_I chuckled. "It's the only way my parents will let me stay there," I answered._

_"Alright," she said, moving to get off the bed. "You have to look really nice then, tonight. You know, still school appropriate, but still sexy," she said, moving towards my closet._

_I smiled and went to join her. "So now you decide to help me," I said as I started pulling a few hangers out._

_"What are best friends for?" she asked, pulling out a black tank top I had recently bought. "Ooh, wear this," she said, holding it up to my chest to survey it._

_

* * *

_

_"Hey, Jo, it's getting kinda late," Jett said softly to me, rubbing my arm soothingly with his calloused hand. We were lounging on the couch in his parents' basement, our friends scattered either on the floor or on other pieces of furniture. The flat screen television was illuminating the rather dark room, playing _The Notebook_, as chosen by one of the girls here. I didn't mind, it was one of my favorite movies. We were even choosing which characters we were in the movie. I called the older Allie just as the DVD's main menu came up, leaving Jett to choose Duke/older Noah. What? Old couples are cute especially these two. The coffee table in front of us had half-filled bowls of popcorn, sour gummy worms, M&Ms, potato chips, and other junk food to satisfy us throughout our movie marathon._

_"Oh, dudes, check out how awesome I am!" our friend Jesse exclaimed, referring to the scene that was currently playing. Rachel McAdams was tending towards James Marsden (Jesse), clad in a full body cast and bruises covering his face. "War wounds, baby," he continued._

_As everyone else teasingly fought with him and threw popcorn in the teen's direction, I looked up toward Jett and smiled. "Yeah, it is, isn't it?" I asked quietly, trying to sound as sweet and flirtatious as possible._

_"Do you wanna head upstairs right now?" he asked, pulling me closer to him._

_I bit my lower lip and nodded. He smiled and removed his arm that was secured around me, moving it towards my hand and intertwining our fingers._

_"Hey, Jo and I are gonna head upstairs for a bit," Jett announced to the group._

_"Yeah, whatever," "Who cares?" "Shut up, I love this part," "Later," and other calls alike were heard from everyone. Michelle was the only one who didn't say anything. She just turned toward me, winked, and mouthed "Have fun," in our direction. I smiled before Jett and I went for the basement steps and stormed up._

_We reached his room a short moment later, quietly closing the door behind us. Jett quickly pushed me up against it, his lips crashing onto mine. I giggled and kissed him back, running my tongue over the seam of his lips, he quickly obliging my request for entrance._

_We stayed like that for another minute or two before slowly pulling away. I smiled and bit my lip nervously. "We're really doing this?" I questioned, smiling._

_"Yeah," he smiled, before placing another gentle kiss on my lips. He pulled away a couple short seconds later, his smile miles wide._

_"Hey, mind if I run into the bathroom quickly to get more comfortable?" I suggested, ending on a lustful, seductive note._

_He chuckled and pecked my lips once more. "Go ahead," he answered. "I have to clean up a little in here anyway," he ended chuckling. I giggled, too. His room was always a mess. Even now, there were clothes strewn out all around._

_I smiled and leaned up to kiss him once more before leaving to go into the conjoined bathroom. I closed the door behind me, sighing in contentment. This was really happening. I felt so nervous, but so excited at the same time. This weekend, Jett and I would be together for a year. We knew we loved each other, and wouldn't do anything to hurt the other, emotionally or physically._

_I stepped toward the sink and placed my purse on the counter. It was small, and didn't contain much: my camera, loaded with over a hundred pictures from the dance, my cell phone, my lip gloss, eyeliner, some Tic Tacs, and a condom I had managed to steal from my brother's room. Jett and I had discussed different ways of protection. I actually wanted to go on birth control, but didn't know how I could do that without my parents finding out. And Jett was more then welcome to using a condom. Plus, a little birdie told me that my older brother had a Trojan box in his nightstand, so I was able to steal one from his bedroom before leaving for the dance. Such a rebel, I know._

_I popped one of the Tic Tacs in my mouth as I slipped off the black gladiator sandals I had worn to the dance. I took off the black v-neck tank top Michelle suggested I wear, and shakily took off the white tiered skirt I wore with it. That left me in a black bra, and white bikini-cut panties that had black trim. I felt myself shake with nerves as I looked at myself in the mirror, knowing what was to happen soon. But it wasn't a scared I'm-not-ready type of nervous, because I freaking knew I was ready. I think I was more scared of the act itself. You know, how big Jett was, how much it would hurt, that sort of deal. Though, Jett promised he'd be gentle with me, so I don't think I'd have to be too nervous, right?_

_I swiped on some lip gloss and eyeliner quickly before stepping closer to the door, knocking nervously. "Jett," I called. "You ready?" I asked him._

_"Yeah, come on out," he answered. I took in a nervous deep breath before turning the door knob and pulling the door open. I smiled when I saw the set up. He had cleaned his room like he said, moving the t-shirts and jeans that were scattered around earlier into the laundry hamper off in the corner of the room. His bed's navy blue comforters were pulled down to the foot of the bed, and a couple of candles were lit on his nightstand, releasing a light vanilla scent in the air._

_"Wow," we both found ourselves saying. I giggled a second later, stepping away from the bathroom's doorway. Jett moved closer to me as well._

_"You look, amazing," he said sincerely and gently to me._

_"You think so?" I asked him nervously._

_He nodded. "Mm-hmm. You look so sexy," he reassured me after one last scan of my body, planting a chaste kiss on my lips. "And beautiful," he went on, kissing me again. "And everything in between," he concluded._

_I giggled once more and took fistfuls of the black polo he was wearing, leaning in to kiss him again. I felt him slowly massage my bottom lip with his tongue, and I granted him entrance as we battled for dominance and scoped every inch of the other's mouth. As we stood there, I felt most of my nerves wash away. I could tell how much Jett loved me, and made me want to kick myself in the ass for being so nervous in the first place._

_We slowly pulled away a couple minutes later. I gently pulled on his lower lip as we separated, knowing how much he loved and hated it. It was my way of teasing him a little bit._

_He smiled. "To the bed?" he suggested, cocking his head toward the piece of furniture in the middle of the room._

_"To the bed," I replied, nodding._

_

* * *

_

_"Wow…" I spoke in a breathy tone._

_"I know," Jett said between breaths._

_We were in a very cliché position on his bed right now. Just like what you'd see on TV, laying side by side on the mattress with a white sheet draped over our bodies, pulled up just enough to cover my torso and his lower half. My bra and underwear were somewhere on the floor of his room, probably near his polo, khaki shorts, and boxer briefs that were stripped off of Jett long ago._

_"That was amazing," I said, turning my head toward him as he did the same._

_"Do you know how much I love you?" he asked a moment later, still catching his breath a little bit._

_I smirked, still panting a little. "Not really," I answered slyly. He chuckled and let me continue. "Remind me, please?" I asked, faking a pout._

_He smiled and moved closer to me, capturing my lips into an innocent lip lock. "You are the most beautiful person I have ever met," he said, pulling away. "Inside, and out," he added with a sweet smile. I giggled and felt myself blush. "I love you so much, Joanna," he told me._

_"I love you too, Jett," I said with a smile, going to kiss him again. "Happy Anniversary," I said as we parted from each other._

_

* * *

_

"Hey, what'cha looking at?" Camille asked a few days later, walking into the dorm. I was lying on my stomach on my bed, my laptop open as I scanned through some pictures I had saved on it.

"Nothing," I answered quickly, going to shut the device. Camille moved over to me and opened the laptop, seeing a picture of Jett and I from the dance that night. Michelle had taken it off to the side of the dance floor, if you'd call it that. It was more of a section of the parking lot near the DJ booth that a large crowd of teens had occupied. We were hugging each other tight to one another's bodies, our heads turned to my camera with happy (and eager, if you catch my drift) smiles on our faces. His athletic, perfectly toned arms were circled around my waist securely as mine were around his torso. We looked so happy, like we knew that we would be together until the end of time, and then some.

What happened to him after that night?

Camille turned toward me, a slight look of shock on her face. "Really? You still have pictures of the douche on your computer?" she questioned me before walking back to her bed.

I sighed. "I was never one to erase pictures off of here," I admitted sheepishly, fully closing my laptop.

"Still. If I were you, I'd get rid of anything that reminded me of him," Camille told me.

"I know, and that's what everyone else has told me," I said as I got off my bed, groaning softly as I did. Camille heard me and turned around.

"Cramps?" she asked understandingly. I nodded. Yup, it was that time of month for me, and I was experiencing some of the worst cramps I've had. So bad, that even with Midol in my system, I skipped out on my classes today and called in sick for work. "Fun," she said, going back to do whatever she was doing. I went over to the desk in the room, grabbing the prized medication and a bottle of water as I went to take a second dose of it. "On a lighter note, did you talk to Kendall today?" Camille asked.

"Briefly," I answered before taking the pill. I swallowed it with a huge swig of water before speaking again. "He and the guys are on the bus headed to New York right now," I said as I made my way back to my bed, covering my aching body with the thick turquoise and blue comforter. That was all I did throughout the day: lay in bed, watch TV, go on my laptop, read magazines, anything that didn't require much movement. Cramps, gotta love 'em!

"You're still on for the weekend?" she asked.

Kendall and I had a fun time together on Sunday. We ate, talked, joked around, talked some more, and just enjoyed each other's company. A couple more fans had come up for autographs, but it wasn't an overwhelming amount, and they would leave us alone quickly after they came.

Throughout lunch, we talked about anything and everything, especially us. We both liked each other, a lot, and we knew it. However, with his crazy schedule and our completely opposite lifestyles, there probably wasn't any way we could maintain a relationship. It wouldn't be possible, but we decided on giving it a try. We decided we'd actually go out on an official date and see what happened. And, that would be this coming weekend. Kendall actually suggested we go out on Valentine's Day this coming Monday, making it more romantic and meaningful. But, of course, I had to ruin his plans as always. I had class and work that day and the next, so that was out of the question. Instead, I was coming up to New York this weekend and would stay overnight. This way, we could spend the whole weekend together and see if something would come out of it.

Now, it was Wednesday, he was driving off to New York to continue the last part of the band's tour, and I was lying in bed, bleeding and in pain as Aunt Flo came for her monthly visit. Always a blast with her around, right girls?

"Yeah, I just finished all the arrangements this morning. I'm going up on Friday, and staying at the same hotel the guys are gonna be at," I answered Camille. "And I'm really sorry I'm missing your first few shows," I added, my voice sincere and apologetic. Opening night for her play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, was on Friday. She played Helena (a perfect match, for anone who has seen the play), and Natalie played Flute.

The quirky brunette laughed. "It's okay," she reassured me. "So long as you tell me everything that happens when you get back, I don't care that you're missing the play. You just have to go later on in the week," she said, ending on a stern note.

I laughed back. "Deal," I confirmed, snuggling deeper into the pillows and mattress.

* * *

"Hey, I'm on my way to the restaurant right now," Kendall told me Friday night after I answered his phone call.

"Great, I'm just leaving my room right now," I said, holding the phone between my shoulder and cheek as I put my jacket on over my outfit. I had arrived at the Loews Regency Hotel a few hours ago, after taking a bus to Newark and a train into Manhattan. Kendall and I had agreed to meet at Serendipity, a restaurant that was just a few blacks away from here. "Where are you now?" I asked as I went to grab my Uggs.

"About a block or two away from the hotel," he answered.

"Great, so I'll see you in, like, fifteen minutes?" I figured, slipping the comfy boots on over my leggings. The hotel was on Park Avenue, and the restaurant was located on 60th Street.

"Sounds good, see you then," he replied.

I smiled and bit on my lower lip anxiously. "Can't wait," I told him before hanging up.

A minute later, I was out the door and on the streets of New York. It was crazy, and cold, the weather still averaging around thirty degrees. The streets and sidewalks were crowded, the air smelled of gasoline and smog, and the buildings around were lit up as the sky grew darker. I felt a slight breeze blow threw the air, making the atmosphere a little colder. Plus, with thin material covering my legs and nothing else, I felt myself shiver a little more than usual.

Finally, about a few minutes past seven, I had arrived at my destination, Serendipity. It looked packed, with people forming a line outside of the door to get in, and most of them not looking too happy to wait outside in the cold. I noticed one person in particular who stood off to the side, leaning against the black wall, checking his cell phone. It was Kendall, looking warm and comfortable in his black jacket, gloves, plaid scarf resting lightly around his neck, and his favorite dark gray beanie over his blonde hair. Unlike me, whose legs were shaking and arms crossed tightly in front of her chest to keep warm.

"Hey," I said with a smile as I walked up to him.

Kendall looked up and smiled. "Hey," he repeated, his lips pulling into a smile.

I giggled as he stepped toward me, chastely kissed my lips, and wrapped his arms around me in a warm embrace, something I grew to love when we were together. I still felt myself shake and my heart thump hard against my chest when I was around him, but, again, I grew to like it more and more. "Great seeing you again," he said as we separated. I sighed silently at the loss of contact. I felt so cold now, why did he have to pull away?

"Same here," I replied, still smiling.

"Shall we head in?" he asked, taking hold of both of my hands, ungloved for whatever stupid reason. His touch was warm, even through his leather gloves, making me smile a little wider.

"Please," I answered, "It's freezing out here."

He chuckled and led me into the building. We walked up to the hostess station, where Kendall stated our reservation that he had made earlier. A minute later, we were taken to a table that was in a more private section of the restaurant. Whether that was intentional or not, I didn't care, so long as the night didn't consist of multiple fans coming up to greet Kendall.

The hostess left us alone a moment later, placing menus on our table as we removed our jackets and placed them on the backs of our chairs. I went to go sit in mine, but was interrupted by Kendall.

"Uh, uh, uh, allow me," he said as he came over.

I giggled as he pulled my chair out. "Such a gentleman, you," I gushed as I sat down.

"Of course," he answered cockily. "You look nice, tonight," he added, his eyes scanning over the white sweater dress I was wearing with the black leggings and boots.

"Thanks, you look great, too," I said as he sat down in his own seat, mentioning the white band t-shirt he wore with a black, unbuttoned shirt over it.

A waitress came over a moment later and took down our drink order before leaving us alone again. "You know, I have to admit," I started, "I have been so nervous all day about this," I said in a sheepish tone.

"You shouldn't have been," he responded. "I mean, it's just me," he added, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Yeah, but that's the thing. You're… you," I said.

He chuckled. "You say that like it's a bad thing," he responded.

"Oh, you get what I mean," I huffed. He laughed at me again before letting me continue. "Seriously, though, you're famous, I'm a nobody, it's my first time going out like this in a year, maybe. Can you blame me for being even the slightest bit scared?" I asked.

"Well, don't be," he answered. "Tonight's going to be all about us. No concerts, no fans, no guys, no annoying DJs forcing us to sing, just you and me," he stated, reaching across the table to take my hand, "bad restaurant service, and good food," he finished.

I laughed again. He told me a little bit about the restaurant earlier in the week. It was one of the band's favorite places to go to when they came to the city. According to him, the service sucked, but the food was worth it, so I had agreed to go there with him. It seemed nice, and it smelled amazing in here, so I was happy we decided to come here.

"Well, I can't wait to see how the rest of the night goes," I responded, interlocking my fingers with his.

Dinner was nice, and surprisingly went quickly, if you ask me. Like Kendall had told me over the phone, the service sucked. We had a bitchy waitress, and some of the other staff didn't look too friendly either. That didn't faze either one of us, though. We never stopped talking, we joked around and laughed, and ate, of course. We were in a restaurant, after all. I had ordered the charbroiled salmon, and he ordered some chicken dish that had a weird name, but looked delicious. We kissed a little, too, each one gentle and sweet, neither of us pressuring one another.

After finishing our food and paying the bill (which was a really fun and amusing argument over who would pay), we left the restaurant and walked hand-in-hand back to our hotel. Perfect ending to a perfect first date, right? Wrong.

"You know, I really don't want this to end," Kendall stated as we neared the hotel.

"I don't either," I responded sadly. "Do you wanna do something else?" I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess we could find something fun to do," he answered. "What do you feel like doing? We could go get some dessert, we could probably find an arcade close by and hang out there, we could go to one of our rooms and watch a movie," he listed.

"Or," I interjected as we neared the main entrance of the hotel, "we could play a little Ding Dong Ditch in the hotel," I suggested.

He laughed. "Ding Dong Ditch. Really?" he questioned, trying to hide a laugh. A huge smile was plastered on his face, anyway. "Isn't that a game for five year olds?" he asked, still using an amused tone.

"Yeah, so?" I asked with a playful tone and smile to match. "My best friend and I would do it all the time when we went on vacation together," I told him. In recent years, Michelle's family and mine had taken the two of us on vacations with them. Our favorite was when her family took me on a cruise with them a couple years ago. That's when we got the idea to play the childish game, and did it on any vacation or overnight school trip we had gone on together.

"Oh really?" Kendall asked, amused.

"Yeah, come on, it'll be fun," I urged him.

I waited a few short seconds before he sighed. "Fine," he responded as if he was dreading what we were about to do. However, something in his voice hinted that he was all for it and was excited.

"Yes," I cheered, tightening my grip on his hand. "Come on," I said eagerly, leading him into the hotel.

* * *

"Oh my God," Kendall whispered a couple of hours later, his ear up against a door. I had my hand over my mouth and my black jacket draped over my arm, trying to silence and conceal my laughter. We had played the game for a good half hour or so, knocking on random doors on random floors, even going to the guys' room and messing with them for a little bit. We then decided to head up to his room and hang out in there for a little bit. We didn't do much, just lay together in his bed, watch TV, talk, and again, enjoy each other's company. It was now close to 11:30, and we were now on my floor. However, on our way to my room, we heard a girl cry sexual profanities from behind one of the closed doors. And now, we were debating whether or not to mess with the couple on the other side.

Kendall made a motion to knock on the wooden door, but I stopped his hand before it collided with it. "Are you serious?" I whispered, still trying to hide my laughter.

"Come on, I can't resist now!" he argued back.

We then heard a few more moans of pleasure, making us snort in laughter once more. "You're not," I said, his hand still held up to the door. He ignored me anyway and knocked on the door. I gasped playfully as he turned toward me, a humorous grin on his face.

"Come on," he whispered, laughing a little. He grabbed my hand and lead me down the hall and around a corner, allowing us to speak normally.

"Oh my God," I said in a small fit of laughter, resting against the tope colored wall.

"Shhh," he shushed me, holding a finger up to his lips as he looked behind the corner. I covered my mouth again, concealing my laughter once more.

"Did you seriously have to do that?" I asked, my voice just barely above a whisper.

He turned to me. "Yes, now shush," he said, chuckling. After glancing back and forth for a moment, he turned back to face me, a devilish smile dimpling his face. "Stay here, I'm going back," he informed me.

"What?" I asked in an amused, soft voice. He ignored me once more and stealthily walked down the aisle, back to the door we stood by earlier. He knocked again a second later before jogging back to where I was. "You're insane," I told him.

"Shush," he snickered, hiding me from anyone that would be coming.

We heard a lock click and a door open shortly after. As that happened, Kendall and I slid down the wall and sat on the floor, waiting to see or hear what would happen next. "What do you want?" a gruff voice asked. I again tried to keep from laughing, Kendall holding a finger to his lips again to make sure I didn't blow our cover. "Hello?" the voice called again, this time irritated.

He peaked his head around the corner, then turned back to face me. His mouth was agape and his eyebrows were knitted together in a horrified expression. "The guy doesn't even have a sheet wrapped around him," he informed me.

My jaw dropped and I let out a soft squeal of laughter, but quickly covered my mouth at the sound. Kendall placed a hand over mine as well, shushing me one last time.

"Hello?" the voice called again. The two of us sat in silence for a few more seconds before hearing a sigh and the door close.

"Oh my God, you really need to learn how to shut up," Kendall said in a heep of laughter.

"I told you not to do it," I said as he stood up off the carpeted floor.

"Come on, it was so tempting," he argued, reaching down to stand me up as well.

"You're terrible," I said, realizing how close we were to each other now.

His gaze dropped to my lips for a second, and then locked with my eyes again. "You're even worse," he informed me, amusement in his voice.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Oh really," I tried, moving closer to him.

"Really," he said with a nod.

We leaned in to one another, our eyes closed and lips just lightly brushing against each others in a gentle peck. We leaned in a second time and kissed again. It was still gentle, but was more passionate than any other kiss we shared. I felt butterflies release in my stomach, happily fluttering away as Kendall and I stayed connected. I brought a hand to his cheek, slightly pulling him closer to me as our lips continued moving in sync, creating a perfect rhythm. I felt his own warm hand touch my face as well, pushing strands of blonde hair behind my ear before caressing my jaw line with his thumb. I smiled and giggled softly into the kiss, earning a light chuckle to bubble out of his own throat, too.

If anyone told me a couple weeks ago that I'd be in New York City, celebrating Valentine's Day early with one of the hottest celebrities in the country, passionately kissing him in the Loews Regency Hotel, I would have laughed in their face and walked away. Even last week, after we kissed at the bus stop by Karaoke Dokie, I would not have believed it. And yet, little did I or anyone else would expect, here we are, standing in the middle of the hotel corridor, kissing each other. I continued smiling into the kiss as these thoughts ran through my head. I couldn't believe everything I was currently feeling. I hadn't felt this way since Jett, and even then, we were well into our relationship before I had these giddy feelings for him.

After a couple minutes, Kendall's lips and mine slowly pulled away from each other's, our lungs practically begging us to let some air in. I gently pulled on his bottom lip with mine as we separated. He smiled once more, and leaned in to kiss me once more, pulling away a few seconds later. Just like I would do with Jett.

"Do I have to drop you off?" he asked, tucking another loose strand behind my ears.

I smiled, nodding sympathetically. "Unfortunately, buddy," I said, subconsciously rubbing my thumb along the smooth skin of his face. He smirked in response, bringing his hand down from my face to my free hand.

"Come on," he said, smiling at me. We walked down the hallway again, this time walking past the one couple's door, loud moans still erupting from their room, and going over to my door with small laughs. "So, we're hanging out tomorrow before the concert, right?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, we are," I confirmed. Kendall leaned in and kissed me again, still gentle and soft.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," he said when he pulled away.

"Can't wait," I said for the second time that night. We leaned in and pecked each other on the lips one last time before saying a quick bye, and Kendall turned and walked down the hallway.

I smiled as I slipped my room key into the lock and entered my room. Once I closed the door behind me, I leaned against it and sighed contentedly. Best first date ever.

* * *

**Huh? What do you guys think? Sweet, fluffy, romantic, kinda dramatic? Haha, please review?**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	11. Chapter 11

**First off, i wanna make a public apology to surfergal23, after i told her that this would be up either on Tuesday or Wednesday. I'm really sorry! I swear on my life, I had this almsot done on Tuesday, and couldnt get on the computer yesterday, so i couldn't finish this :( But it's here now, and it's done, and I like it, so hopefully you (and the readers out there) will too :D Thank you.**

**Oh, and be sure to read her story "Memories Of A Lifetime" :D In fact, we teamed up together for one of her oneshots recently! Well, not teamed up, so to say, but i helped her come up with the idea for one of them. that still counts, right?**

**Haha, whatever, go on to reading. Drama is to be expected towards the end, so that should make most of you guys out there really happy :)**

**Disclaimer: **Too busy to copy and paste. Just guess what i actually own :P

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"Twenty questions," Kendall inquired the next afternoon.

"Really?" I asked him as we continued walking down the busy pathway in Central Park. We were both bundled up in coats, scarves, and gloves (no beanie on Kendall, which I didn't like), walking towards Tavern On The Greene for lunch. Holding hands, might I add. "Isn't that supposed to be for long car rides?"

"I guess," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "But we played your game last night, so now we have to play one of mine," he fought back. "Besides, I don't even mean we have to guess what the other's thinking. We can just ask each other about our lives," he explained.

"Alright, sounds fun," I answered nodding, looking up to meet his gaze.

"Okay, then. But there are rules to this," he stated.

I pouted. "No, I hate rules," I said in a baby voice.

"Come on, they're not that hard to follow, I promise," he said. I sighed and nodded, earning a small laugh out of him. "We have to be honest with each other, no matter how awkward or embarrassing the conversation gets," he said.

"Now I'm not so sure I like this game anymore," I said with a chuckle.

"Quiet, you," the blond said in a fake warning tone. "And we can't ask each other the same question," he went on. "Like, if I asked what your favorite color is or something, you can't use that one on me," he explained.

"But you would answer it for me if I wanted you to?" I asked.

"Yeah, I guess. And that goes for you, too," he went on. "And nothing is too personal," he added. I scoffed at that in my head, not thinking much of it.

"Sounds fair," I responded. "You first," I told him.

"Alright…" he paused for a few seconds. "What's your favorite color?" he finally asked me.

I chuckled. "Real original," I scoffed.

"Just answer the question," he said sternly, jokingly.

I giggled a little. "Um, probably yellow," I answered. "You?"

"Green," he answered a second later.

My eyes lit up. "Ooh, scratch that, I wanna change my answer," I told Kendall eagerly.

"What, no! No takebacks," he laughed, lightly shoving me. Hey!

"Hey, you can't shove me," I told him, playfully shoving him back. He laughed as he caught his footing, unlatching his hand from mine.

"I'm sorry," he chuckled, moving his arms around my shoulders and pulling me closer to his warm body, and softly pressed a kiss to the side of my head. I felt tingles run down my spine at the contact, making me smile and giggle. That was another thing I started getting used to, the whole giggling thing. I still wasn't crazy about it, but I liked it, and I knew Kendall didn't mind the sound either. He cuddled me in close for a second before pulling away slightly.

"Why do you wanna change it, anyway?" he asked, his arm still draped over my shoulders.

"I don't know," I started, sighing. I brought my gloved hand up to his, which was now draped over my shoulder. "I've kinda always had a thing for guys with green eyes," I said flirtatiously, looking up to see him.

"Oh really?" he asked.

"Yeah, I don't know why, but it's something I always found attractive in a guy. Even my first boyfriend had piercing green eyes like yours," I told him.

"Oh really?" he asked again, this time with a slight laugh. "Tell me about this boyfriend," he ordered.

I smirked and lightly slapped his hand that was on my shoulder. "Wait 'til it's your turn," I replied. He laughed. "And besides, I'm naturally drawn to green eyes," I answered.

He chuckled again. "Alright, I guess that turned out well for me," he responded. "Now it's your turn," he informed me.

"Alright," I agreed, pausing for a couple of seconds. "Ooh, I got one," I announced eagerly. "How old were you when you had your first kiss?" I asked.

"Oh, God," he laughed. "You really have me looking back there," he told me. I laughed a little as I waited for his answer. "Uh… I'd say I was eleven when it happened?" he ended questioningly. The boy didn't know? "It was in the beginning of sixth grade, that's all I know, and it was with Jenny Tinkler," he told me.

I held in a snort. "Tinkler?" I questioned. Didn't that sound a little… yeah, you get it.

He turned to me, a somewhat astonished look on his face. "You're mean," Kendall said, knowing where I was getting at. "She's been one of mine and the guys' best friends since Pre-K," he informed me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to make it sound mean," I said, still giggling. He smirked. "Did you like her at all?" I asked curiously.

"Not that way," he answered. "It was a dare at some party someone in our class was having, and neither of us had our first kiss yet, so, it just kind of happened there," he explained. Aw, that's sweet. "And, we barely talked to each other again for the rest of the year," he added.

"Aw," I slightly laughed. "I take it you worked things out with her then?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, but it probably wasn't a bad thing that we didn't talk all year," he answered. What? "She's the biggest klutz in the world," he told me. Guess he read my mind?

"C'mon, she can't be that bad," I said.

"Oh believe me, she is," he said with a slight laugh. "And some of her worst instances all happened to James. She actually gave him the world's first paper cut that required surgery," he ended.

"No way," I said in disbelievement, if that was a word. I mean, come on, a paper cut? Really?

He nodded. "Yup. _And_, she broke his arm pretty bad while playing marbles in, fifth grade, I think. Got eight additional stitches on his elbow that night," he answered.

"Oh my God," I laughed. "Remind me to never be in the same room as her if I meet her," I told him.

"Might not want to be in the same _building_ as her either," he told me, emphasizing the word building. "Alright, now you have to tell me about your first kiss," he told me.

I sighed. "Alright. It was in sixth grade for me, too, but at our big graduation party a few days after school ended," I started. "We were playing Spin The Bottle, and when it was my turn, it landed on my friend Jesse, and that was that," I said, reliving the night in my head. It was fun, especially because he was just as obnoxious back then, and had a girlfriend at the time (or whatever you'd call your crush who liked you back – it was the freaking sixth grade!). But it was all out of lighthearted fun, no jealousy or fights resulted from it.

"That sounds so much fun," he said sarcastically.

"Shut up, your turn," I said, playfully shoving him with my free arm, which was sandwiched between our two bodies as we walked.

"Okay, what was your first boyfriend like?" he asked right away. Oh boy.

We continued bantering back and forth for a few more minutes, talking about previous relationships, favorites, a little about our families, and other stuff alike. No fans had come up to Kendall since we arrived, all of the kids in the park too busy sledding or jumping on the playgrounds. The only pauses in our conversation were when it was someone's turn and we were trying to think of something clever to ask. I really liked this game. We were being completely honest with each other, and there weren't any awkward gaps.

That was, until we were close to the restaurant.

"Okay," Kendall responded after I stated it was his turn. He was silent for another couple of seconds before turning to me, the boyish grin that was present on his face the whole time vanished. No, I don't like the sight of theat. "Alright, this doesn't go as my real question, but I gotta know to ask the one I'm thinking about," he said.

I smirked. "I say it counts anyway," I said in a teasing tone. His lips pulled into a smile again. Yay, that's what I like to see.

"I'm serious though, I really need to know this," he said in a lighthearted tone. "And you might want to know the answer, too," he added. Oh boy, I don't like where this is going.

"Okay," I said, trying to hide the uneasiness I felt in the pit of my stomach now. I mean, it couldn't be that bad, but you never know, right?

"Would you consider us boyfriend and girlfriend?" he asked. Wa, wa, wait. What? Kind of unexpected there.

"What?" I heard myself ask surprisingly, and confused.

We stopped walking, something I wasn't happy with. He turned our bodies to face each other, removing his arm from its secure position on my shoulders. I felt myself pout slightly when I saw him rest at his side. Is that bad, that I needed to have his arm around me to feel happy? "Well, do you?" he asked, locking his eyes with mine. "Are we, a thing?" he asked me.

Well he kind of dropped a bomb there, didn't he? "Well, would you wanna be?" I asked with a smirk, hoping to keep the banter light. I even went to grab his hands with my own, again feeling the warmth through his black leather gloves and my gray ones. But inside, I was freaking out, and not in a good way. Don't get me wrong, I liked all the time I spent with Kendall so far. He made me happier than I have been in quite a while, especially yesterday. He was really sweet, and smart, and _patient_, which was pretty evident last week after the karaoke incident. He made me laugh, and always had a response to my sarcastic ways, which I loved. And, he was hot, too, I had to admit. That was a plus.

But then, there were the negatives. For the first part, we lived three-thousand miles apart from each other, and most likely wouldn't be able to maintain a relationship anyway. I have seen one of my friends go through the stress of a long distance relationship when her boyfriend moved from Raleigh to Florida. It didn't end well, and she was devastated for the next two or three months. On top of that, Kendall and his best friends were world famous singers, I was a measly college student working towards my teaching degree. He'd travel the country in a cramped bus, going from city to city every night while I'd be studying in a cramped dorm room every night, or working at the diner. Plus, he probably has girls around him all the time, adding on to the stress I'd inevitable be under. How would a relationship like that work out?

"Yeah, I'd really like to see where this," he paused for a second, letting go of one of my hands to gesture at both of us with his index finger, "ends up going," he said. My gaze drifted downward ashamedly. He reached down with his free hand and grabbed mine again, giving each a gentle squeeze. "I really like you, Jo," he said, causing me to look back up at him.

I sighed a little. "I really like me, too," I said.

He smirked and went to shove me lightly with one of his shoulders. "C'mon, I'm being serious here," he said with a chuckle. Wow, I didn't even realize we were standing that close to each other.

"I know you are," I told him. "But… I don't know," I finally answered his question, looking down embarrassed.

"What's up?" he asked, bringing a finger to my chin and gently tilting my head up. I lifted my gaze to meet his concerned green eyes, feeling guilt run through my veins.

I sighed softly. "I like you, too; a lot," I told him honestly.

"I figured," he responded cockily. Now it was my turn to shove him. "Hey," he laughed.

"Shush, I'm talking," I said, letting go of one of his hands to hold a finger to my lips. He held his now free hand up as to apologize. "Stop," I said, playfully swatting his hand down. "I'm being serious too, now. I mean, do you really think we can maintain a relationship if we really wanted to?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yes, I really think we can," he answered confidently. Damn, I can't do this.

I sighed. "I want to, I really do, but…"

"But…" he urged, giving my hands another gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"You're… you," I said for the second time in twenty-four hours. I saw the slightest of smirks tug at his thin lips, but he didn't say anything. Maybe he understood? "You're in a band, Kendall, a really popular one. You live in LA, I live here. Not even here, I live nearly two hours away, and not even permanently, I just go to school there. And we live two completely different lifestyles-" I started rambling, but was interrupted by Kendall placing a finger over my lips. I smirked, causing a relieved smile to form on Kendall's face as he removed his hand. "Sorry," I apologized softly.

"No, don't be. I get it. You're absolutely right," he responded.

I frowned. "What?" I asked.

He let a sigh pass through his thin lips. "I shouldn't have even asked you this in the first place," he said apologetically, loosening his grip on my hands before pulling away. They felt cold, now. Boo, I need his warm hands back! "But would you be willing to give it a shot?" he asked cautiously.

As if this wasn't embarrassing enough, I felt tears prick my eyes. Whether it was hormones from my still continuing period or what, I wasn't sure, but I knew that that was the last thing I needed him to see. You see, unlike every other girl on the planet, I'm still hormonal and emotional on my period rather than the week before, or whenever PMS symptoms generally start. I usually get it the day before, and it lasts a few days after that. Wait, TMI, not the point! "I'm sorry, Kendall," I quickly apologized before turning around and walking back down the path.

"Jo," Kendall called, but I was already brushing a tear that had snuck its way down my cheek.

* * *

"I felt terrible," I complained to Stephanie that afternoon, laying back on my bed so my head was upside down against the furniture. Yes, Stephanie was still in town, and was staying at the same hotel as us. Go figure. She had a room on the floor above me, but spent most of her time (and even a few nights apparently) up in Carlos' room. She and I had talked briefly, and had gotten along really well. So, when I got back to my hotel and felt I needed to talk to someone, I called her room up and asked if she could come see me.

"I don't blame you," she stated, laying down next to me and hanging her head off of the side. "I'd feel the same way if I were in your position," she told me sincerely.

I sighed. "I hated it. He looked so upset, and he knew I felt the exact same way about him, but I let him down. And now I feel twice as worse as I felt in the park," I said.

"Don't feel so bad," she said, sitting up a bit and turning her body back around so she was on her stomach. "No one can blame you for feeling like that, not even Kendall," she reassured me.

"Still, I don't think I've hurt a guy this much since my ex, and even then, he caused all the tension we had in our relationship," I admitted to her. I don't know how easy it was to just explain Jett in casual conversation like that, let alone to a complete stranger, but it was.

"Well, what happened with you two?" she asked.

I closed my eyes and sighed. "Too personal," I answered vaguely.

"Still, whatever is going on with you and Kendall now can't be as bad what happened with your ex, is it?" Stephanie asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

I shook my head. "No, I guess not," I sighed, knowing where she was getting at.

She brought a comforting hand to my shoulder. "I'm sure it will all turn out okay," she said reassuringly. "Just come to the concert tonight, hang out with the guys and me backstage right after, and everything will be fine with you twoagain," she suggested, her tone optimistic.

"How do you know?" I asked, sitting up.

The brunette shrugged her shoulders. "I just do," she answered. Cocky, much? "Can't hurt to try," she added, moving to get off my bed now.

Damn, she was right.

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**Review?**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! I'm back with another update :D This is probably my new favorite chapter - there's some definite drama in here, some fluff, a little humor (or at least i hope it's humorous), AND, we finally find out what happened with Jett and Jo! :) Rlly hope you guys like this!**

**Now, normally I'd use this space to promote a story. This time though, I figured i'd give you guys a preview of one of my favorite on here: "Bittersweet" by surfergal23. Won't say much else for now. If you aren't reading the story already, then you can probably guess what it's about just by reading this little snippet. Enjoy!**

Today was the _best_ day of my life.

Today was the _worst_ day of my life.

My shaky fingers, caked with dried blood, touched the plate glass in front me, my eyes radiating to my beautiful, tiny baby girl three rows back and two spots to the left. I watched as she turned restlessly in her spot, her head of blonde hair, her dark eyebrows peeking out from her small, knit pink cap.

She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The way her deep brown eyes looked around curiously, taking in their first real experience of life. The way her smile seemed innocent, how her arms flailed about, extending towards some sort of phantom no one else could see.

I saw the small index card that said _Knight_ above her head, and my watery, green eyes scanned the rest of the babies, as I noticed most of them had first names. I cast my eyes down away from her.

Not my baby girl. That was something we were supposed to decide on together.

I leaned my head against the glass, and started to helplessly cry, my heart beating out of my ribcage. My hand traced down the plate glass, as I let out a sob, my green eyes closing, my shaggy blonde hair, falling in front of my eyes. I angrily fisted my shirt, covered with streaks and blobs of crimson, in my hand as I let out another helpless sob, my throat seeming to close as I lifted my head up again, looking at the little girl in the nursery. I backed up against the wall, not being able to look at her anymore, as I fell to the ground in a mess of tears, my hands laced in my hair tightly.

This was my fault. It was my fault my baby girl wasn't going to grow up with a mother to love.

I buried my head between my legs and sobbed hopelessly, the blood from my shirt somewhat dripping on the hospital floor. There was _so_ much blood. My breathing hitched heavily as my heart seemed to tear in two more with each beat.

_"Kendall, look out!"she screamed, holding the sidebar of the car tightly, one hand on her pregnant stomach. There was no hope. The scar skidded on the ice, fishtailing. Everything was a blur, but I felt her holding my hand tightly, as we crashed forcefully into pole, glass shattering, the sound of metal twisting, and the worst feeling in the world. _

_My wife's hands grip on mine, completely, and utterly limp._

_I opened my eyes blinking, blood trickling down my forehead as I saw her near sideways sitting in the car, blood engulfing her face, a large piece of glass sticking out of her side._

_This wasn't good._

I let out a loud cry, my entire body convulsing as I leaned my head back against the wall in agony. How could this happen? I swallowed hard, my eyes looking up at the fluorescent lights in the hospital, my tears making them seem even more powerful.

"Mr. Knight?" I heard a small voice say. My eyes went to the nurse who stood in front of me, magically appearing, as she bit her lower lip nervously. She was a very young brunette and obviously not very skilled on how to approach a man who had just lost his wife who had birthed his child before she went.

"Yes?" I asked her in a raspy voice, my eyes still coated with tears, scratches and cuts on my face. I hadn't even bothered to clean up since getting here, and frankly, it was the absolute _last_ thing on my mind.

"I need you to sign off on the birth certificate as the father of Baby Knight. And I also need you to provide some other information, such as your…wife's maiden name, her birth town and I need you to provide the baby with a name," she said her voice shaking with emotion, hesitating when saying the "w" word. She was obviously a new nurse. Maybe this was her first real experience being an OB/GYN nurse, and look at the lucky case she got, approaching a bloody, dirty man who had just lost the one thing that mattered to him most, on what was supposed to be the happiest day of his life. I nodded and swallowed hard, trying my best to be strong, as she took me down the hall.

I looked like I had been involved in some sort of an axe murder. I saw the way other patients looked at me at first, but once I gave them a helpless glare with my green eyes, it was almost like they understood. Yes, I killed my pregnant wife.

**Dunh dunh dunh! Suspenseful, right? Go read her story to find out what happens next :D But be sure to review this chapter first, pretty please?**

**Disclaimer: **Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. All songs I mention belong to their rightful owners. All title rights go to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

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Stephanie left shortly after. I agreed to meet her in the lobby in a couple hours so we could go watch the boys perform tonight. I still felt bad about what happened a couple hours ago, but not as bad as when I first walked into the hotel. However, it didn't help that Kendall had sent me a few text messages. He even called once, but didn't leave a voicemail or anything. So… that was kind of a good thing, if you think about it. I didn't have that to make me feel worse again, right?

For now, though, there wasn't too much for me to do, so until it was time for me to leave, I went to lay on the bed and channel surf for a bit. I eventually settled on _E! News_. This was probably the only entertainment news show I liked. The hosts were funny (and somewhat corny, but not so bad), they had great fashion and makeup tips, and they were usually the first to report any big celebrity news gossip. So, I sat back and watched the latest on the Grammy awards that would take place the tomorrow, Kim Kardashian, something about E!'s new show _Fashion Police_ (which I loved, by the way), and other news about Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan's recent breakdowns.

A few minutes into my watching of the show, the scene switched to the main stage of whatever studio the show was shot at. Guiliana Rancic was standing in front of a screen that showed, who else, the guys of Big Time Rush doing a photo shoot. Really, did I have to watch this?

"_Alright, moving on from rehab and court dates to boy bands, touring, and teen magazines_," she said in a cheerful voice. "_Wow, that was a terrible segway, guys_," she said to some people offstage. I smirked a little before she continued on. "_The guys of Big Time Rush recently sat down with Teen Vogue while on their Cuda-sponsored tour. Let's go behind the scenes as Kendall, James, Carlos, and Logan talk about girls, touring, and their _Friends_-like situation_?" she ended questioningly. "_Ashlan Gorse had the scoop on this, Ashlan,_" she concluded.

Of course, my ears perked up at the word "girls." I mean, did that mean Kendall would bring me up? Eh, highly doubt it. Buuuttt, you never know. I turned up the volume on the TV as the scene switched to show different clips of the guys laughing and posing for cameras, decked out in leather jackets and plaid shirts before showing all four of them sitting down and greeting E!'s cameras. "_What's up E!, we're Big Time Rush_," they said happily.

Kendall spoke up. "_Thanks for hanging out with us behind the scenes at our Teen Vogue photo shoot_," he said, smiling. God, he looked cute. His dimples stood out on his face, and his hair was styled ever so slightly, making his shaggy blonde locks look even better than usual.

The blonde, twenty-some year old Ashlan Gorse was seen immediately after in the E! Studio, talking a little bit about the band and their tour, but I didn't pay too much attention to what she said until the clip changed to the guys sitting in a dressing room – Kendall and Carlos sitting in the front, James and Logan standing behind them – talking about their new living situation.

"_We literally just bought these huge, two-bedroom apartments in downtown LA that are right next to each other_," James spoke up.

The clip switched suddenly, and Logan was now speaking. "_I __feel like we're on _Friends_, almost_," he said as the guys started laughing and making their own small comments about that. He retaliated them briefly before continuing. "_Because we're on the same floor in the same apartment complex, and we're always barging into each other's places at random times…_"

After another minute of the guys bantering back and forth about their apartments and a little about the tour with their interviewer, the subject changed to Carlos and Stephanie for a short bit. He laughed awkwardly before answering. "_You know what, yeah, we are kinda dating, now_," Carlos admitted, the guys whooping and applauding after his confession. "Shut up," he laughed bashfully. I smiled and chuckled along with him. From what I've seen, he really cared about her, and she with him. He looked so happy just mentioning his girlfriend right then, showing how much he truly liked her. Aw.

The clip changed again, this time the guys had calmed down as Carlos talked briefly about him and Stephanie, how they'd been best friends for the last year or two, they were going on two months of being together, how their relationship started, etcetera. He was too sweet, he really was. If he was single and things with Kendall and I never happened, I would be happy dating him. But Stephanie is definitely a better match.

"_Now are any of you guys also dating, or have you met someone while touring, something like that_?" the interviewer asked casually, almost as if the subject wasn't anything significant. Yeah, 'cause dating is no big deal or anything, right?

James was the first to answer. "_Well, Kendall had a run-in with someone recently,_" he said suggestively, turning to the blond. Wait, wait, wait. Were they talking about me now? Nah, can't be.

Kendall turned up to the tall brunet. "_Dude, come on, honestly!_" he said in a mock astonished tone. The others chuckled before he went on. I laughed a little, I loved seeing the guys interact this way. It was always fun to watch them joke around and beat on each other. As Kendall talked, he brought his hand up to the nape of his neck and started rubbing it, embarrassed. Aw. That was even cuter than Carlos' actions a minute ago. "_Yeah, well, we all met her the other day, really,_" he corrected James' previous statement. Okay, sounding a little bit like me… "_But, she and I have been talking to each other a little bit, and… you know, I wouldn't mind if something romantically started between us_," he admitted, his face blush.

"_Aw_," the guys laughed.

"_Guys, come on, this is serious stuff I'm talking about here_," he said in a stern voice, then laughed to show that he was joking. "_Really __though, she's nice, she's funny, she's… you know, she has her quirky and sarcastic moments. At the least, I'd love to remain friends with her and keep in touch,_" he added on. Yeah, it was definitely me.

I couldn't help but smile widely at everything Kendall had just said. Who wouldn't? I mean, if he was willingly talking about me on national television, then that kind of proved that he really did like me and wanted to be close with me. How could I deny a relationship with him now?

After a couple minor comments and another question or two, the story changed to a pre-Grammy party that was taking place tonight in Hollywood. I didn't bother listening to it, deciding to go ahead and turn the television off completely. I looked at the clock on my nightstand to check the time. About quarter to five. I smiled eagerly, knowing I'd have to meet Steph sometime soon, and quickly rummaged through my suitcase of clothes that Camille (yes, Camille) packed for me. She insisted that she put together any outfit I'd be wearing while up here, and even lent me some of her own clothes, in case I needed something a little nicer.

I ended up choosing one of my own shirts, though. Sorry, Cam. I knew that Kendall loved his plaid shirts, so I changed out of the gray sweater I already had on today, and into a tan and dark blue plaid shirt I had and loved. I left that unbuttoned over the gray camisole I already had on, and changed into dark skinny jeans.

As I was touching my makeup up a little more, I heard my cell phone ring next to me. The Caller ID read Camille's name, so I kind of had no choice but to answer it. "Hey," I answered when I brought the phone to my ear.

"Hey," she greeted happily. "How's everything up there?" she asked.

I sighed a little. "Well… I've been on worse trips," I told her honestly.

Her tone quickly switched to concern. "What happened?" Camille asked.

"We went for a walk earlier, and it was great – we even played our own version of Twenty Questions so we could get to know each other better," I answered. She laughed and awed at us before I continued. "And then, he asked me if I want to be in a relationship with him, and me being the idiot I am, I turned him down," I finished.

"Why?" Camille asked. She didn't sound shocked or angry or anything, but curious, even though she knew the answer. Really. I'd bet my next paycheck that she'd guess my reasoning and be a hundred percent correct.

"Just guess," I told her, not wanting to bother with the story.

"Alright, it's either Jett," she stated. Eh, partially right. "Or that you think you two can't keep a steady relationship," she said.

Ding, ding, ding! "Both," I sighed, leaning on my elbow and pressing my hand to my forehead. "Please help me out here, Cam. I literally just watched the guys on E! News, and they talked about me for a minute, and Kendall said on freaking live television that he'd want to be in a relationship with me!" I told her.

"Wait, he did what?" she asked, her voice shocked.

"Yeah, go on the website, I bet they'll have the interview on there," I told her.

There was silence on her end for a few seconds. "Alright, I think I have a solution for you," she said hopefully. Yes! "I guarantee you won't like it, but I really think it'll be better for the both of you if Kendall knew what's going on in your head," she explained. Huh?

"I don't get it," I replied. "You mean tell him how we're completely different? I already said that to him," I said.

"No. Well yes, but that's not what I'm getting at," she said. I felt my heart pound a little faster, kind of knowing where she this conversation was going, and I did _not_ want to talk about it. Please don't say it, please don't say it! "I think you should tell him that Jett raped you," she said cautiously.

And she says it, ladies and gentlemen!

I inwardly groaned, pressing my head deeper into my hand. "He didn't rape me," I said, my voice quiet and stern.

She scoffed. "He fucking hit you, and then forced you into having sex with him," she exclaimed, but I could tell that she was trying to keep her voice soft so no one around would hear her, wherever she was.

"Okay, first off, rape is when you're abused, forced into sex unwillingly, and fighting it. I never fought it," I explained to her for possibly the hundredth time. Literally, that's how much we fought and talked about this. And quite frankly, I was getting sick of it. "And besides, he was drunk when it happened," I added.

"Yeah, the first time!" she exclaimed. Damn her.

"I'm hanging up," I told her, point blank. I snatched the phone from my ear, hearing her cry out an apology. I ended the call anyway.

I groaned again, burying my face into both of my hands. Yes, Jett "raped" me, as Camille said, and Michelle, and most of the few others I told the story to. There was one, maybe two other girls back home who felt the same I did, that it didn't classify as rape. Or at least they said that to make me feel better. Either way, it wasn't fun to go through. To put it simply, he was drunk, he hit me because I didn't want to have sex with him, and to make him stop, I had sex with him. He instantly apologized the next morning when he was sobered up, and I stupidly forgave him.

When it happened over and over again was when I finally ended it with him.

I decided to grab my iPod touch, put on it on Shuffle, and blasted the volume as loud as it could go. Well, loud enough to not get complaints from other hotel guests. "Meet Virginia" by Train was the first song that came on. Not too bad, kind of fit my current mood.

A few uplifting songs later, I had finished getting ready and left, prepared for the night ahead of me.

* * *

The concert was in full swing a few hours later. The guys were in the middle of their acoustic set in the NYU theater. Kendall and one of the backing band guys were strumming their guitars, and the boys were concluding their song "Stuck." Stephanie and I stood off to the side behind a black curtain, getting a good look at the guys' show without being in the audience.

The guys knew we were here, obviously. We hung out with the guys a little bit backstage before they went out to sing. Things with Kendall and I... let's just say it wasn't _too_ pleasant. I mean, we hid whatever awkwardness that was between us, but still, when we caught each other's eye, I could feel the tension between us. I'd duck my head away, and he'd turn his focus back to the conversation everyone else was having. I did give him a hug for good luck just before the guys went up on stage, that's a plus, right?

As James sang the last note, the crowd cheered and applauded the band. Kendall threw his guitar pick out into the audience as usual. Now, from what I've seen, the guys would jump into their last couple of songs right after the song. However, even when some of the backing band came back out, I noticed Kendall reach into his pocket and take out one more pick, and tune his guitar one last time. Plus, the guys stayed put on their stools. What's going on exactly?

"Alright, we have a little surprise for you guys tonight," Logan spoke into his microphone. When the audience's cheers died down, he chuckled and spoke again. "Over the last few days, we've been working on a cover at one of the studios in Manhattan," he went on to explain, "and we figured we'd let you guys be the first to hear it," he finished.

Kendall brought his face closer to his microphone. He had his favorite beanie on, which I loved. Along with the whole green eyes thing, there was just something about a guy in a beanie that I found really sexy. I noticed his gaze turn to the direction where I was standing with Stephanie. "Sing along if you know the words," he encouraged the crowd, his eyes locked on me, though. I think I knew what song they were going to do. Kendall had mentioned earlier that the guys were going to start recording this during their stay in New York, and finish it with their producer, Gustavo Rocque, when they got back to LA. "Hope you like it," he said, turning back to the audience with a confident smile. He then focused his attention on his guitar and strumming the first few chords of the song. Yup, my suspicions were correct.

I smiled and quickly recognized the song. Being from North Carolina, it's almost a given that you love country music. I had told him that I loved a lot of Keith Urban's songs, and, of course, the guys were singing one of them tonight. Some of the crowd cheered at recognition of the song as well, as Kendall continued playing the slow, romantic tune.

James started humming the first few notes, earning a few more cheers from the audience before he started the first verse.

_Well I know there's a reason,_  
_And I know there's a rhyme._  
_We were meant to be together,_  
_That's why_

He backed away from his microphone for a bit as Carlos moved closer to his and continued the verse. As he sang, he occasionally glanced over at me and Stephanie, smiling when he locked eyes with the brunette and sang to her. Again, awww.

_We can roll with the punches,_  
_We can stroll hand in hand,_  
_And when I say it's forever,_  
_You understand._

The rest of the guys joined in a second later for the chorus, their voices in perfect, four-part harmony.

_That you're always in my heart,_  
_You're always on my mind._  
_When it all becomes too much,_  
_You're never far behind._  
_And there's no one that comes close to you,_  
_Could ever take your place,_  
_'Cause only you can love me this way._

Kendall continued strumming his guitar as the song continued, the backing band continuing to play behind him. He looked up from the neck of his guitar, his dirty blonde bangs slightly covering his eyes as he locked eyes with me for a second time. He knew how much I loved this song, and I bet he could judge from the smile on my face that I loved hearing them sing it. He brought his face closer to the mike, switching his glance between me and his guitar every so often as he sang the second verse. Though I could tell that he was somewhat singing this part to me. Even I had to admit, these next few lyrics fit us perfectly.

_I could have turned a different corner._  
_I could have gone to another place._  
_But then I'd never have this feeling,_  
_That I feel today._

The guys joined him again for the chorus. Not too different from before, but I smiled even more as they continued, if that were even possible. Kendall noticed, and smiled wide at me as well as he sang. Yay, all is good with us then? If not, then it at least is starting to.

_And you're always in my heart,_  
_You're always on my mind._  
_When it all becomes too much,_  
_You're never far behind._  
_And there's no one that comes close to you,_  
_Could ever take your place,_  
_'Cause only you can love me this way._

The song continued without a hitch. There wasn't a bridge, but James and Logan's soulful voices hummed and vocalized through the hook that was playing. Way before this point, the occupants of the crowd started waving their cell phones in the air like they were lighters, and even a few people sang along to the song. The music slowed again as the final chorus started, Logan taking over lead vocals and singing a cappella. Kendall still strummed his guitar a bit, but only every few seconds as the raven-haired tenor sang.

_And you're always in my heart,_  
_You're always on my mind._  
_When it all becomes too much,_  
_You're never far behind._

All four boys started singing again, the music picking up and going back to its normal tempo.

_And there's no one that comes close to you,_  
_Could ever take your place,_

Kendall stopped strumming his guitar and the music slowed again as he sang the final line. I even found myself singing softly along with him.

_'Cause only you can love me this way..._

The band joined in one last time, playing the concluding notes to the song, the boys oohing and humming along randomly in the background. The song soon ended, the guys even concluding it with a final a cappella version of the chorus before a loud round of applause rocked the theater. I clapped anc cheered as well, catching Kendall's attention. He sat furthest away from me, as far as the guys seating arrangement went, but he still managed to toss something in my direction. The small, plastic red guitar pick he tossed landed on the floor right next to me. I quickly snatched it off the ground as the guys set up for their next song.

* * *

"Great job!" Stephanie exclaimed the second the concert was over. We were in the guys' dressing room, where she was giving Carlos a congratulatory hug. The Latino stood in a white wife beater and dark jeans, hugging his girlfriend tightly around her petite waist, his gray hoodie that he wore onstage draped over it as his other hand clutched a water bottle. Him, James, Logan, and Kendall were all sweating after their final few songs, which explained why the shortest of the group had ditched his hoodie.

I leaned against the wall, standing between the happy couple and James, who was also trying to air out the gray t-shirt he was wearing as he shook out his chestnut brown hair. "You guys were awesome tonight," I added happily.

James thanked me gratefully, wrapping a strong, toned arm around me in a quick side hug. I chuckled and hugged him back briefly, looking around for any sight of Kendall. He wasn't there. "Where's Kendall? I really need to talk to him for a minute," I informed them.

"I think Kendall's dropping his guitar off over in the band's dressing room," Logan answered me.

"Thanks," I said quickly and went towards the door. I saw Stephanie mouth "Good luck" to me before I left, going to one of the backing band's dressing rooms.

Sure enough, as Logan said, Kendall was putting his most prized possession in its black case. His blue plaid overshirt was draped over his shoulder, leaving him in a white wife beater like Carlos. His tan arms glistened with sweat, adding on to the sexiness factor. He no longer had his beanie on, but I could see it folded and sticking out of the back pocket of his jeans. When he looked up and saw me, he smiled as I stepped forward cautiously. "Hey," I greeted, putting a friendly smile on my face as well.

"Hey," he said, still smiling. Good, that's a start.

"You were amazing tonight," I told him.

"I know," he answered back. I attempted to glare at him, but I broke down and let a smirk play on my lips and ducked my head, trying to hide whatever small laughter would come. Kendall chuckled victoriously and walked over to me, closing the gap between us. "I'm suprised you even showed up tonight," he said.

"And miss you sing Keith Urban? Never," I replied. He smiled and looked down for a short moment. My own gaze shifted to the ground for a second, too. I hated this, it was all awkward-y again. I hated it when things were awkward with us, I really did.

He must have noticed that I was upset. "Hey, look at me for a sec," he urged a few seconds later. I felt his finger lift my chin up to meet his eyes. Kendall smiled and spoke. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier," he apologized, his expressions showing sincerity. "I really didn't mean to pressure you like that," he added.

I shook my head. "Don't. I'm the one who ran out on you... again," I said. He smirked, removing his hand from my face for a second, only to tuck some hair behind my ear. I smiled, knowing he'd love what I was about to say. "Besides, I did some thinking..." I responded.

Kendall smiled a bit. "About?" he questioned, though he already knew my answer.

I smiled widely up at him. "Do you really want to give this a shot?" I asked, chewing my lower lip nervously as I waited for his response.

His smile increased in size, dimpling his face again brightly. "You bet I do," he answered eagerly. I giggled as he pulled my face closer to his, planting a kiss on my lips much like last night's. Soft, passionate, tender, and everything in between. I subconsciously brought my hand to his arm, feeling his toned muscles slightly bulge out as he placed his hands on either side of my waist. I smiled and giggled again into the kiss, feeling my heart thud happily against my rib cage and butterflies flutter their little hearts out in my stomach.

I absolutely loved this feeling when I was around him. Just putting that out there.

After about a minute, we pulled apart to catch our breath for a second. Kendall smiled instantly, bringing a hand up to again shove a loose, wavy strand of hair from my face. "You're such a bad kisser," he joked, leaning in to kiss me again. I smiled into it, pulling away from him a few seconds later.

"I could say the same for you," I said, trying to mask my smile. He smirked and swooped me in for one more long kiss, letting a soft squeal escape my lips. Only a few seconds into it did I feel him nibble softly on my lower lip. I was shocked for not even a second, but slowly parted my lips and granted him entrance. I snaked my other arm (which I now noticed was resting at his side) around his broad shoulders and brought my hand to the back of his neck, still slightly damp with sweat from the night's performance. Simultaneously, he brought his own strong arms around my waist, gently pulling me closer to his warm body.

We stood there in the dressing room for another good minute or two, battling for dominance in the kiss. It was amazing. My heart thumped gleefully and my stomach did flips as we scoped out each other's mouths. I giggled and moaned sweetly, earning another soft moan from Kendall. I smiled even more into the kiss, if that were even possible. This felt right to me. Though anyone would walk in and scream at us to get a room, it felt like I was supposed to be here with him, and that everything was right in the world.

I finally broke from the kiss a short moment later, panting for air as he too caught his breath. I smiled. "Wow," I breathed out.

"I know," he said softly, his own tone breathy as well. I chuckled softly and brought my arms down from his neck, my hands resting on his strong arms that were still encased around my waist. His smile widened and his grip tightened slightly around me. "You sure you want to do this?" he asked, no longer catching his breath. "You don't have any doubts about us or anything?" he questioned.

I shook my head happily. "Not one," I answered confidently. He smiled and gently kissed my mouth.

"Then it's official, you're my girlfriend," he responded as he pulled away.

"And you're my boyfriend," I said happily.

* * *

**Awww, they're finally together!**

**I'm so glad with how this chapter turned out. I was hoping to add a little more, but it's already kind of lengthy, so i'll save all that for the next chapter, which shall be full of fluff and sweetness. I'm gonna hold off on the KenJo drama for a while. Not saying there won't be any drama, it just won't be between our favorite couple! That's always good to hear :D**

**As for the whole Jo and Jett situation, think what you want as to whether its rape or not. I couldn't decide whether it actually could categorize as rape or what, so, knowing how Jo's character was, I had her deny it and Camille say it was. That way I'd (hopefully) wouldn't get criticized of calling it the wrong thing? And, BTW, i'm changing the rating on this story and i'll add a rape warning later on, when I actually add a flashback or have Jo go deeper into what happened between them. But anyways, I really hope i satisfied your predictions when it came to her past, and am praying you aren't _too_ mad at me :)**

**The song the guys sang was "Only You Can Love Me This Way" by Keith Urban. It has been one of my favorites over the last year, and I can easily imagine the guys singing it at the same exact parts :) Now if only Scott Fellows could have them cover that song. Then my life would be complete.**

**Please review, that would really make my night!**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	13. Chapter 13

**Ugh, i've been on my computer since 3:00 today, trying to write and finish this before i forgot anything. Plus, Facebook, kinda distracted me for a while :D But its not my fault, it's my friend's fault, and CityVille's. If you're on Facebook, you know what i mean. And after all that, the chapter itself turned out to be kinda short - somewhere around 2000 words. But I still rlly like it.**

**Now, all the underclassmen at my school are going through state testing this week (except us seniors, cuz we're awesome like that :D), so I have absolutely no homework or projects this week, meaning MAYBE an extra update or two this week(?) Haha, we'll see. No promises, but i already have a small idea for the next chapter. Maybe you'll see something tomorrow or Thursday? again, no promises, but we'll see what i come up with.**

**Alrighty, now here's another tidbit of surfergal23's "Bittersweet." This is James' POV in Chapter 2:**

"So, what are your plans for tonight?" Hannah, or Hayley, asked me. The beautiful, curvy redhead threw her loose shirt over her topless body, her red hair cascading around her tan face, her bright, fake, pearly white smile looking at me mockingly. I stayed in bed and stretched a bit, holding the covers against my naked self, as I looked for a lie.

"I actually have a prior engagement tonight, sweetie. I'm sorry," I said, my hazel brown eyes working their usual James Diamond charm. She looked a bit upset, and sighed as she picked up her skirt from the floor, and slipped it up her long legs, on to her waist.

"It's alright. Will you call me tomorrow maybe?" she asked innocently, leaning down to pick up her purse, grabbing her sunglasses from the side table by my large king size bed. She obviously didn't understand what was going on. Oh well.

"Of course," I lied with a sweet smile. She leaned down and pecked my lips gently, as I turned the kiss quickly passionate, my hand going under her hair, pulling her into me, getting the last taste of Hannah or Hayley I possibly could. God knows I wouldn't be seeing her ever again.

"Bye, Jamie," she said in her cute, high pitched little voice. I groaned on the inside of my mind, but smiled.

"Bye, sweetie," I told her with a bright smile, her not knowing that I had to use sweetie, seeing as I didn't know if she was Hannah or Hayley. As she walked out of the bedroom, walking to the hallway and leaving through the front door of my penthouse, I leaned my head back and nestled into my 500 count cotton sheets.

"Heather!" I exclaimed relieved, finally remembering her name. I had met her at a club last night. I was finally back from North Carolina where I had been filming for three months, back in my penthouse apartment in Hollywood.

I had been shooting a romantic drama called "Hangliders" there for about four months. This was going to be my first real feature film, after doing some smaller works in Australia and Hong Kong. I was penned as one of Hollywood's biggest up and coming movie stars. They called me the "Boy Who Cried Famous" a lot, seeing as that I had gone from Minnesota, to Big Time Rush, and then after our mutual and easy split, to one of the hottest upcoming faces in Hollywood. I had spent my awesome paycheck on this apartment, seeing as there was no need for a huge house in the Hollywood Hills. I wasn't getting married, or having a family anytime soon, and bringing girls back to this place had always made me so successful between the sheets.

So anyway, I was at the club and I had brought Heather back, seeing as she was a bit tipsy, and the short skirt and low cut top she was wearing nearly made me drool. I guess some could consider me a player, but whatever. I wasn't always this way. But my new lifestyle suit me better most definitely.

I sighed and ran my hands through my short, luscious brown hair, knowing that I needed to take a shower. I groaned as I searched the empty space on my bed for my black boxers. I pulled them under the sheets and arose from bed, not even bothering to make it. The maid would be here soon anyway. I made my way over to the bathroom, but as I was just about to step in, the phone chimed. I groaned, wondering who was calling so early, it only being nine o'clock. The voice activated caller ID chimed.

"_Logan Mitchell_". I smiled widely and instantly ran into the kitchen, looking for the phone anxiously. I hadn't talked to Logan in a good two weeks. Truth is, I hadn't talked to any of the guys in a while, shooting movies and all. I knew Logan was really busy with his job, Carlos had been pounding serious hours studying for his promotion at the Miami-Dade police department, and Kendall had been working his tail off coaching the hockey team at our old high school, especially since he was about a month away from becoming a father.

I picked up the phone full of laughter. "Logie, my **man**! How are you?" I exclaimed smiling, leaning on the marble countertop of the island in my gourmet kitchen.

"Hi, James," he said quite stoically. I became a bit confused at his greeting. He seemed upset about something.

"Jeez, who died Logan?" I joked around. I figured he'd be happy to talk to me, especially since I had been pretty much AWOL the last four months. There was silence as Logan sighed deeply. I was confused.

"Logan?" I asked again confused. He swallowed hard and he began shakily.

"James, Kendall and Jo got into a car accident last night," he said softly. My entire head spun for a second. Shit. Tell me everything was going to be alright.

"Are you serious?" I asked shakily, my voice filled with emotion.

"James, Jo died," Logan croaked out. My insides seemed to fall inside me as I swallowed hard, my eyes wide. No way. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be. Jo was pregnant. Kendall was going to be a father. This wasn't happening.

"W-what?" I asked, stuttering out the words. Logan let out another long sigh, and I could tell he had made this phone call earlier. Carlos.

"They rushed Jo to the hospital, and delivered the baby by a c-section but…she didn't make it James. The baby is healthy, but Jo's dead," Logan muttered out. Tears formed in my eyes, as I immediately thought of Kendall.

"Shit," I mumbled out miserably, sitting down on the floor, leaning against the counter. I ran my hands through my dirty hair and sighed.

"How-how's Kendall?" I asked nervously. I knew Kendall Knight was strong, but this-this could've killed anyone.

"Not good, James. I don't know what to do. He's-he's trying to be strong, but, now he has a little daughter to take care of him all by himself, and he doesn't know what to do. I haven't talked to him since last night, but I know he stayed at the hospital. I told him to come home with me after my shift, but he didn't want to leave the baby," Logan got out, his voice weak. I let out a small cry and bit my lip. This wasn't fair at all.

"What do we do?" I asked cluelessly. Logan was silent.

"I called Carlos, and he is probably going to fly out here soon. I don't know what you want to do. I know you're busy and—"

"I'll be out there as soon as I can," I said, my voice trying to be strong.

**Wanna know what happens next? Go read and find out for yourself!**

**Disclaimer: **Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. All songs I mention belong to their rightful owners. All title rights go to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

* * *

"So wait, I just remembered something," I laughed a little as we walked through the hotel corridors a couple hours later. The guys had just endured another meet-and-greet, ending it not too long ago. And for once, the guys said that they wanted to part their ways and spend their Saturday nights differently. Carlos and Stephanie went out to celebrate their second monthiversary, or something like that, James and Logan wanted to explore the New York nightlife, and Kendall and I wanted our own private time.

"What?" Kendall asked me, tugging on our linked hands for me to catch up with him. Hey, it's not my fault he's taller than me and takes bigger strides. The boy has long legs, not lying.

"Okay, remember back at the park when we were talking, you said you wanted to ask me something before all this unnecessary drama happened," I stated.

He nodded, giving a slight shrug of his shoulders. He put his blue plaid shirt back on before the meet-and-greet even started. I was kind of upset when he put it on over the wife beater, but then he added his beanie, which made me happier. Gotta love the beanie. "Yeah, sorta…" he answered, laughing a little uneasily. That's not good.

"Well, do you plan on asking me that sometime soon?" I questioned in a playful tone.

He smiled. "How about we wait until we're back in the room for me to ask it?" he suggested as we rounded a corner.

"Come on, I wanna know," I cried eagerly, my mouth agape in a teasing expression.

"Relax, we're already here. You won't be waiting that long," he laughed, his free hand digging through his jeans pocket for his room key.

I pouted, earning a chuckle from him as he stuck the key card into the automatic lock and swung the door open. It looked the same as last night when we hung out together.

His room looked the same as mine (and possibly every other room in the building) did. The goldish colored curtains were pulled, allowing little light from the nearby buildings, signs, and street lights into the currently dark room. When Kendall flicked on the light switch, I assumed it would look the same it did last night – messy, and… well, just messy, but thankfully not too bad. There were some clothes on the carpeted floor and an unmade bed, but was now perfectly clean. Whether it was his doing or the hotel maids, I didn't know. My money's on the maids. It was decorated much like any other hotel room, the walls being painted a light beige color with a couple pieces of art hung on them. There were oak brown pieces of furniture scattered around the room, ranging from the usual dresser, two nightstands, and duh, a bed (neatly made, might I add). The room was fully carpeted in a soft, off-white color that matched the comforter and sheets on the bed.

Kendall quickly closed the door behind us, pulling me in closer to his body once we were fully in the room. I giggled as his lips crashed on mine. I closed my eyes and slung my arms around his neck, smiling and sighing softly. His wrapped around my waist and hugged me close to him. We stayed in that position for a short moment before I felt his tongue brush against my bottom lip gently. I smiled a little more into the kiss, but snatched my lips away from him quickly, realizing what he was doing. "Hey, you're delaying the question," I reminded him.

A slight pout formed on his face. Hey, his dimples show even when he frowns. Kinda sexy, if you ask me. "But this is more fun," he argued in a lighthearted tone.

I let my mouth drop slightly. "Okay, I'm seriously gonna break up with you soon if you don't ask me the fucking question," I ended with a chuckle.

"You're mean," he stated, still pouting, though I detected the corners of his mouth pulling into a smirk, still attempting (and failing) to hide it. Aw.

"I know," I answered, ending with a soft peck on his lips. That should satisfy him. "It's one of my best qualities," I added when I pulled away, even stepping back a little from our close position.

"Alright," he sighed lightly.

I smiled gleefully. "Yay," I cheered in a soft voice. He smiled fully now and laughed a little, though I was detecting uneasiness in his facial expression. I don't think it would be noticeable to anyone else, but I could still see it. Uh oh.

"Alright, this is gonna be embarrassing," he started. I nodded in response. "But since we're dating now," he continued, yanking me closer to him as I squealed and giggled. This is weird, the whole giggling thing. I don't think I'll get used to it for a while, but with Kendall, it might be a little better. "I think it's something that we should both know and get out of the way right now, okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "Alright…" I said, my own voice sounding uneasy now.

"Okay?" he asked again, this time his voice louder and a little more lighthearted. He gave my hands a tight, yet gentle reassuring squeeze as he did so.

I chuckled. "Okay," I answered with a laugh, my tone more sure and certain this time around.

"Okay then. We're dead serious now," he informed me, his voice in a mock stern and harsh tone. I nodded and took in a breath, my eyes closed. He hid a smile, I could tell. I have special smile-detecting powers, if you couldn't tell. "No laughing, no running off, nothing," he quickly listed, smirking.

"Got it," I answered, my grip tightening slightly on his hands as he did with me earlier.

He waited a few seconds before speaking. "Are you a virgin?" Kendall finally asked.

Oh, not good.

I ducked my head as a blush creeped its way onto my face. I even felt tears prick at my eyes, my mind quickly switching to Jett. I swear, it seemed like everything happening to me lately would come full circle and turn back to him, the last thing I wanted. "Too awkward? Personal?" I heard Kendall ask cautiously. Oh yeah, I almost forgot he was in the room. My bad. I whipped my head back up and locked my gaze with his nervous one. Any embarrassment and sadness I felt instantly went away, that's the kind of effect he had on me. And I loved every bit of it.

I gave a short nod and what I hoped was a sweet looking smile, in attempts of making his nerves ease down. "Just a little," I answered honestly. What? He didn't need to know what Jett did, and neither did anyone else.

"Look, I'm not trying to pressure you or anything, don't think that," Kendall said instantly, tilting my chin up ever so slightly.

I shook my head reassuringly. "Never," I agreed, giving him another smile.

"It's just, well, if we're together for a long time and we do get to that point… well, it'd probably be good to know if we…" he trailed off.

"Yeah, got it," I finished for him, looking back down to the floor again as silence came over us.

Awkward!

Thankfully, it was really short. "C'mon, I'll even answer the same time you do," he said in a reassuring voice.

I smirked. "Oh really?" I questioned.

"Yeah, I will," he answered with a nod. I laughed softly, and nervously, as he gripped on my hands again and brought them up a bit. "Come on, on three," he urged gently, chuckling.

"Alright," I answered a second later.

"One," he started slowly, bringing his face closer to mine to make sure I didn't break eye contact with him. I giggled at his actions. "Two…" he continued, pausing briefly. "Three-"

"No," we both answered.

I laughed slightly in relief. "Alright, that wasn't as hard as I thought," I announced.

"No, it wasn't," he agreed. "At least we got that out of the way," he said, unlatching one of his hands to rub the back of his neck. Aw, he did that on _E!_ earlier this afternoon (or last week, when it was shot) when the guys called him out about me. How much more adorable can he get? He cleared his throat and spoke again. "On a lighter note," he said, bringing his hand down. I smirked and giggled lightly. "How about actually doing what I brought you up here for," he suggested.

"Depends, you never told me what we were doing," I told him. It's true, he didn't. I never thought much of it, thinking we'd do the same thing we did last night – watch TV, have a mindless conversation, kiss a little, hang out, that sort of deal. Maybe go a tad bit further, but nothing more than what we did in the dressing room earlier. I trusted Kendall, and never pictured him as the guy to move things too quickly, and after what he said earlier after asking about my virginity, I knew he was the sweet, caring guy I knew him as, without a doubt.

He chuckled and started walking, pulling on my hand to follow him. "Come on," he said softly, pulling me further into the room.

Soon, I was sitting Indian style on his bed as he rummaged through the closet in the bedroom. "What are you looking for exactly?" I asked him, chuckling.

"You said you were good at poetry, right?" he asked me. Okay, that doesn't answer my question, but whatever.

"I guess?" I answered, ending it like a question. I took a Creative Writing course as my English class senior year, where we spent an entire marking period on poetry. Reading it, writing it, analyzing it, learning different styles of it, etcetera.

"And you can obviously sing, as well," he stated, pulling his body out of the closet with a guitar case in his hand. But didn't he just leave his guitar back at the theater with the rest of the band's stuff?

"I wouldn't say that," I said, feeling my face turn hot as Kendall placed the black case on the floor. "You brought a second guitar with you?" I asked curiously as he opened the case.

He nodded. "Yeah, they're my babies," he said, pulling a black acoustic guitar out, pulling a pick out of its secure location wedged between a few strings.

I giggled as he sat down on his bed, resting the guitar on his lap, as well as a few folded sheets of paper. "What are these?" I asked, reaching to grab them. What? They couldn't be too bad. Maybe they were song lyrics. And besides, if they were private, he wouldn't have taken them out, right? Plus, I was kind of curious to see what it was.

"Not much," he answered, but didn't protest to my taking of one of them. Ha, told ya! "I've actually been in the song writing mood in the last month or so, and still haven't finished anything," he ended with a laugh. "I was hoping you'd maybe help me," he said, looking up with questioning eyes, "or at least let me play something for you?" he finished, chuckling.

I smiled brightly. "I'd love to," I smiled, then held up the one folded loose leaf in my hands. "May I?" I asked flirtatiously. He smiled and gave me the 'go ahead' gesture with one of his hands, turning to his "baby" and tuning the guitar. I smiled again, quickly unfolding it and read some of the words on it.

As I read over what was written, and the small letters written before each line (maybe indicating guitar chords, I guessed), I saw my predictions were correct, song lyrics. And it sounded like it would be a beautiful song. "What's this about?" I asked, moving the lined paper closer to him.

His green eyes quickly scanned over the sheet, and a blush quickly rose to his tanned face. Aw, is that embarrassment, I sense? "I thought I left that in the case," he said, taking the song lyrics out of my hands. Not quickly though, like he was trying to hide something, but still didn't seem too sure about me seeing it.

"What's it about?" I asked cautiously.

He shook his head. "Just stuff," he answered, going back to tune his guitar.

An idea popped into my head. I smiled eagerly and sat up a little. "Play it for me," I told him. Kendall looked up at me with an almost deer-in-the-headlights look. Ooh, bad idea, abort mission.

"What?" he asked, the smallest of small smiles tugging on his lips. Okay, maybe not too bad of an idea after all.

"Play it for me," I repeated, pointing to the black guitar that still sat in his lap.

He looked down, shaking his head. "It's not that great," he told me. "I mean, I wrote this when I was sixteen, and I've barely picked it up since then," he continued.

"I'm a stubborn person," I told him, leaning closer to him. Which was kind of true, but lately I've been letting my guard down for obvious reasons. "So no matter how much you try to argue, you're going to lose this battle," I informed him, smiling sweetly and flirtatiously when I finished.

He smiled back. "I beg to differ. I think I am more stubborn and hotheaded than you will ever be," he said. Oh, it's on!

"Doesn't matter, you're still playing for me," I said, leaning even closer to him, but not by much.

He sighed exasperatedly. "Fine, you win," he said, bringing his hand over the body of the guitar, a red pick clutched tightly between his fingers. Victory! "Alright, here goes," he said nervously, about ready to play the first chord. I leaned my head over the sheet of paper that sat between us, reading the lyrics as his melodious voice sang them.

_With everything I've ever done,  
I'd give it all to everyone for one more day.  
Another night I'm waking through,  
Another door I walk into, I can't break_

_And it's a winding road  
And it's a long way home_

_So don't wait, for someone to tell you it's too late,  
'Cause these are the best days.  
There's always something tomorrow,  
So I say, let's make the best of tonight.  
Here comes the rest of our lives._

Kendall sang so softly and delicately, his voice going into a perfect falsetto when the chorus called for it. Along with the steady strumming of his guitar and the quick change of the chords, the song was truly beautiful. In fact, I even saw a little bit of pain in his eyes, adding even more to its beauty. Wow, that was deep, even for me. Still, it was amazing to hear, and even made me tear up a little bit.

"Wow," I breathed out when he strummed the final note.

"I've written better," he said casually.

"No, I mean it," I said honestly, placing a hand on top of his, which rested on top of the guitar. "It's really great," I reassured him. "It's so beautiful, and really uplifting," I told him. His eyes met my brown ones, making me smile. That's another thing I've caught onto lately, whenever we made eye contact, I'd instantly feel happy all over and smile at him.

"You really think so?" he asked, his tone slightly bashful. I nodded happily, earning a sigh from him. "You have no idea how much that means to me," he said, his own lips forming into a smile. "Thank you," he told me graciously. Instead of responding, I leaned in closer and kissed him for a few seconds. Kendall instantly kissed back, smiling into it before we pulled away.

"Anytime," I answered a second later. He smiled again while I went to retrieve the music sheet and looked over the words. "Now let's see what we can come up with here," I said.

* * *

**Awww, so fluffy and romantic! And speaking of songwriting, who's excited for Big Time Songwriters this weekend! Yeah! I actually meant to have Jo sing the song with Kendall, but changed my mind, and its nearly eleven now. I've been on the computer for 8 hours! That's unhealthy :( But, i'm trying to make other ppl happy, so its worth it, right?**

**The song Kendall sang was "Best Days" by Graham Colton. Seriously check it out, its so beautiful :D**

**Review? PEACE!  
-Megs**


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay, i lied about when i'd update next, sue me! Haha, really though, I'm sorry. Yeah, school's been super easy, but on top of that, i was asked to babysit for my neighbors almost everyday after school, which isn't so bad. They're huge Big Time Rush fans, so all we did was watch Nickelodeon, play the BTR album on my iPod, played Barbie, and all that while getting paid. Not bad rite? Ooh, and I just got a job at a local pizzeria, so i'm working Friday night shifts there now. Otherwise, i bet this would have been up last night, but it wasn't and i'm sorry.**

**Buuutt, this chapter is nearly 6000 words (minus the story preview down below), and i think it was worth the wait. Hopefully you like it :D**

**And...**

**Holy, 100 REVIEWS? No way, no fucking way, are you serious? Ahhh! Haha, seriously though, THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who submitted a review, subscribed to this story, favorited it, hell, even favoriting me as an author! I never expected this to be as popular as it is, and even though there are a million other stories and authors on here that are more popular than this little things, I'm still insanely thrilled. Thank you so much. And for that, i dedicate this chapter to O-M-Gizzle, my one-hundreth reviewer!**

**So, here's a preview of Chapter 3 from surgergal23's "Bittersweet" for you to enjoy, and then you're on to reading! :D**

I sat in front of the TV in me and Jo's—_my_ house. The bottle of beer in my hand feebly tried to aid me in my efforts to numb everything out of my life, but it wasn't working.

It had been two days since the accident. Two days I'd been a father. Two days I'd been a widower. Two days I had lost the light of my life.

Two days.

My mother was already en route to Minnesota, cutting her business trip in Europe short. She had been calling me non-stop, along with Katie. I hadn't been responding much. What was I supposed to say to them? That I was a wreck, and that I couldn't handle raising my own child? What would that do?

I hadn't talked to any of my best friends since a little before the accident, besides Logan of course, but I knew they were en route to be by my side as well. The funeral was in two days, the wake tomorrow. I didn't know how I was going to get through the next two days, but I thanked God that I would have some support from my family, and best friends.

My mom planned on staying with me for a short while as I got back on my feet. I was going to have to quit my job as New Town High's head hockey coach, and while I certainly didn't need the money, I didn't know what else I was going to do with my life. I guess I would spend the rest of it making it up to my motherless kid.

I figured I would just end up sitting here every day, with a beer in my hand, watching TV, thinking about how I ruined my life, my daughter's life—and ended my wife's. Three lives in one twenty second interval. Great job, Knight.

I directed my eyes to the pink room just down the hall, in which the beautiful sunlight was flowing through. Taylor had been sleeping soundly all night, while I had been drinking all night. I had gotten home from the hospital around twelve last night, my baby girl in hand. Logan had begged me to stay with him and Camille for the night, but I had to get home. The quicker I got there, the faster the heartache would come and topple me over, the faster it would pass.

I got up from the couch, placing my beer on the coffee table; not bothering to use a coaster like Jo would've made me. I sighed and swept the bangs out of my eyes as I made my way to the pink room, with white carpet. We knew we were getting a girl.

**So tragic, isn't it. Go check the rest of the story out to see what happens next. Now onto Chapter 14!**

**Disclaimer: **Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. All songs I mention belong to their rightful owners. All title rights go to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

* * *

I awoke to noises the next morning. It sounded like a door opening and closing, the person doing those actions trying to be quiet, but I didn't open my eyes to see who said person was. I felt myself snuggle deeper into the mattress, a soft groan escaping my lips. I wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep right now. I mean, how early was it right now? Well, it's Sunday, meaning I'm leaving Kendall and everyone else later today, so I'd have to get up eventually. Do I have to, though?

Last night was great, amazing even. Kendall later played the rest of the song for me, and we even started writing a new one. It wasn't much, just a tune and a small set of words to go along with it. After that, we decided to take a break from the songwriting for a while. We relaxed on his bed and put on the TV, but we barely paid attention to it. We did the same thing as last night – talk, hang out, kiss a few times, but nothing more. As he said he would, Kendall didn't pressure me, and I loved that.

Wait a second, last night… I don't remember going back to my room. And why was I under the covers exactly? Wait, did we- no I still have my clothes on, Thank _God_! Guess I slept over last nigt?

My eyes shot open, realizing I indeed never went back into my room last night. I blinked a few times as my eyes adjusted to the light, even though it wasn't that bright. Really, the lights were off and the curtains were peeled open, allowing wintery sunshine to enter the room. Kendall took notice now that I was awake, wearing a black zip-up hoodie, white band t-shirt, jeans, and Vans. His hair slightly damp, my guess would be from a shower, and was hanging over his eyes. He smiled and stepped over, his hands holding what looked like, no way, was that coffee he was carrying? Yes!

"Hey, sleepyhead," he said, leaning forward to kiss the top of my head.

I smiled a small smile and sat up, peeling the comforter off my body. "Hey," I said, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. "Did I spend the whole night here?" I asked, then mentally kicked myself. Well duh! Of course I spent the night here.

"Yeah, I didn't really have the heart to wake you," he said, still smiling as he set the two coffee cups on the nightstand near us. Awww, how much sweeter can he get? I ducked my head to hide the slight blush that was creeping up on my fair skin.

"I didn't like, put you out or make you sleep on the floor or anything, right?" I asked, feeling embarrassed.

He quickly shook his head. "No, never," he answered, taking a seat next to me on the bed. "I think we both fell asleep actually in the middle of that one _Family Guy _we were watching_. _I woke up at three in the morning and saw you were still here, so I just pulled the blankets over us and kinda went back to sleep," he said, ending with his own embarrassed chuckle.

"You could have woken me up if you wanted to," I told him, realizing milliseconds later that it probably sounded like I didn't want to be here at all. "I would've gone back to my room and let you sleep peacefully here if you wanted," I added, hoping that fixed my previous statement a bit.

"Well, it was three in the morning," he repeated, chuckling. "And you looked exhausted enough as it is. How was I supposed to wake you up when you looked like that?" he asked.

"Point taken," I nodded. He laughed, pulling me closer to place a soft kiss on my forehead.

"Come on, get up. You have to leave in a few hours," he reminded me. Grr, I didn't want to think about that just yet. He stood up off the bed and grabbed one of the coffees from the nightstand before going towards the dresser.

"I don't wanna," I whined, slowly getting up and grabbing the second cup of coffee. It was black, but I didn't care at the moment. "So, what time did you wake up?" I asked him curiously, taking a small sip of the rather bitter coffee. Blech!

He turned his head to the digital clock on the nightstand. I did, too. It's around 8:15 right now. "Eh, about a half hour ago, maybe forty-five minutes," he answered.

"Please tell me you brought milk or sugar or something for this," I jokingly begged as I neared him. Kendall chuckled.

"Don't worry, I did. The stuff here is _terrible_ without it," he said, emphasizing the word terrible and chuckling a little. He then moved a coffee tray closer to me. You know, those ones you get at McDonald's or Starbucks that are made from the same stuff as egg cartons. Sure enough, one of the cup holder things held a bunch of creamers and sugars and pink Sweet N Low packets. Hallelujah.

"Hallelujah," I chimed, grabbing one of the mini creamers and instantly pouring it into the Styrofoam cup. Kendall laughed, fixing up his own coffee to his liking. "Did you eat while you were down there?" I asked him. He shook his head in response.

"No," he answered, turning his head to me. "I was actually kinda hoping we'd make up for that lunch date yesterday…?" he trailed off, letting a smile spread across his face.

I smiled back. "I'd love to," I said. "Let me just finish this up in here, and then I'll meet you downstairs in twenty minutes?" I suggested.

He pouted a little. "Why not now?" he asked, his tone slightly exaggerated, signaling he was kidding.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm in the same clothes I was in last night, my makeup is smudged, I haven't even brushed my teeth yet," I listed off, earning a small laugh from him.

"You look fine," he told me, bringing a hand up to my face. "In fact, the smudged eyeliner makes you even cuter," he joked, lightly rubbing what I supposed was my smudged, darkish makeup off my lower eyelid.

It was my turn to pout again. "I'm eighteen, I don't wanna look cute," I said, tossing some empty sugar packets back onto the coffee tray type thing.

"You'll always look cute to me," he retorted. Before I could respond, he leaned and kissed my lips for a few seconds before pulling away. I smiled a closed lip smile as we parted, while Kendall's thick eyebrows knitted together. Did I do something wrong? "Yeah, you probably should go back and brush your teeth," he said, smiling at the end.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my coffee. "I'm leaving," I informed him.

A laugh elicited from his throat. "I'm sorry," he chuckled, turning his head back to me.

"See ya," I called back, my own tone light and exaggerated like his earlier.

I got back to my room a short moment later, instantly going into the bathroom. When I looked in the mirror, I realized that I indeed had smudged eye makeup and faded eyeshadow all on my lower eyelids. God, how on Earth did he find _that_ cute? I quickly washed my face and brushed my teeth, changed, made myself presentable again, started packing a few minor things back up, and left the room as I sent a quick text to Kendall letting him know I was on my way.

I came downstairs and into the dining room, wearing a purple long sleeved shirt, skinny jeans, and those suede boat shoes you'd get at American Eagle. My makeup was light, and not wanting to shower, I pulled my hair back into a loose ponytail. Kendall was in there, a beanie on his head in an attempt to hide from the busy crowd, carrying a plate of food to his table as he read a random section of the New York Times.

Since he never took notice of me, I found that this would the perfect opportunity to sneak up on him and surprise him, right? Right. I walked up to his table, his eyes still fixated on the newspaper in front of him, and stepped behind him. I placed my hands over his eyes and brought my face closer to his ear. "Guess who?" I asked him, my voice just barely above a whisper.

I could tell he was smiling now. "Steph, I thought I told you we can't do this anymore," he responded. Hey, he better not be cheating on me already! I instantly removed my hands, using one to punch his shoulder from behind.

"Jerk," I accused mockingly.

"I'm sorry," he chuckled, reaching behind to grab my hands and pull them around his neck so I was hugging him from behind.

"You know," I started. Kendall turned his head around to look at me, "for someone who doesn't like hearing people say sorry, you surely say it a lot," I told him as I removed my arms.

"Not a lot," he corrected as I moved to the chair across from him, "I only say it when it's necessary," he added.

"But you were joking around with it not two seconds ago," I reminded him.

"You thought I was cheating on you. Therefore, I apologized for making you think that," he playfully retorted back.

I nodded. "Uh-huh, sure," I said, pulling his plate to the middle of the small table. It had an untouched Belgian waffle on it straight from the wafflemaker, and a few pieces of fruit sat next to it. I grabbed a small piece of green melon – honeydew, was it? – and popped it in my mouth.

"Hey," he chuckled, pulling his plate back towards him.

I pulled it back to the middle. "Payback's a bitch," I informed him, taking a second piece. He just shook his head, his now dry blonde bangs swaying under the beanie with the sudden movement, and turned back to the article he was reading. Geez, even my grandfather was never that interested in newspapers. "What'cha reading?" I asked curiously.

"Check it out for yourself – main article in the entertainment section," he said, turning the newspaper a hundred-eighty degrees and shoving it closer to me. I took it as he took back his plate (meanie) and read the large printed headline.

_A Big Time Crush for Big Time Rush_, it read. Underneath showed a picture of Kendall and I walking on Park Avenue last night on our way back from the theater at New York University. Oh God.

"Oh boy," I muttered before starting to read the article.

"It doesn't say much," Kendall informed me. I ignored him and continued reading. "It just says that people have spotted us together, that we've been very quote, 'flirtatious and giggly,'" he stated. I looked up, seeing him use air quotes over the last few words. I laughed slightly and let him continue. "I didn't read the whole thing, but it doesn't seem like they solely mention you or anything. Your name's not in there, at least," he said. Alright, that's a bit of a relief, I guess.

I scanned over the article before putting on a slight frown, reading a few comments from onlookers in the third to last paragraph. "Think again," I said, passing him the paper. "Check the last couple paragraphs. Some people do have a couple things to say about us," I told him.

Kendall quickly took it and read the story aloud, but not loud enough for people surrounding us to hear. "Alrighty, it says, ''They seemed to be enjoying themselves last night when they were out eating,' one onlooker said. Another agreed. 'They make a cute couple,' she told us,'" he read.

I shook my head. "That's not what I meant," I said, about to lean forward to show him.

"I'm getting there, shush," he said in that mock stern voice he'd been using almost all weekend. And it still didn't get old. To me, at least. I smirked and sat back, listening to him continue reading. "'However, most people don't feel that way. Two bystanders, both women in their late twenties, suspects that the blonde is simply dating the Big Time Rush singer for her own fifteen minutes of fame, and that we could see her in the near future as the next Paris or Kim,' one said,'" he said, his face dropping slightly.

I nodded. "Yeah, that's it," I said awkwardly.

He shook his head and laughed half-heartedly. That can't be good. "You don't like that, then you're really not gonna like this," he informed me. I crinkled my eyebrows together in confusion, though he never acknowledged it, continuing to read. "'Who knows? It could just be for the sex, too,' her friend said,'" he finished.

I couldn't help it. I let out a snort of laughter at that last comment. I mean, yeah, it did hurt a little bit, but the idea that people actually thought that, and that that was the complete opposite of who I was, made me crack up. Kendall started laughing a little as well and sat the newspaper down, most likely laughing at me, but I would also guess at the article too. "That's so stupid," I got out a few seconds later.

"Yeah, all these tabloids are," he agreed, his laughter dying down and his face dropping again. Uh oh, not good. Laugh again, laugh again! "You're not upset about that?" he asked in a concerned tone.

Alright, that's not bad then. "Not really," I answered, shaking my head. "I mean, I'm not too crazy about being photographed and talked about like that, but I know that that shit isn't true, and most people won't believe it either," I gave my reasoning. He nodded in understanding. "When people do believe it is when I'll get upset over it," I finished.

"Admit it, you're only with me for the sex," he said with a smug grin.

"Damnit, how'd you find out?" I asked him, trying to hide my own smile.

"I know these things," he answered with the same facial expression. I shook my head at him and chuckled.

"You're mean, I'm leaving you," I said, now smiling my own smug-looking smile at him.

"Love ya too, babe," he called back as I made my way over to the food.

"Whatever," I called back, loud enough for most of the dining room to hear, but I didn't care. Kendall and I were having fun together, and I was starving, and I was trying to get Kendall to shut up so I would be able to go and get me some food.

I came back about a minute later with a bagel and some fruit, mostly so Kendall wouldn't get mad at me for stealing anymore of his. We just started dating, I did not want to get on his bad side this early in the relationship. Well, not yet, at least. I'm a horrible girlfriend, I know.

* * *

"I really don't wanna go," I complained a few hours later. It's a little past eleven o'clock, and I have to catch a train to Newark in a little bit. I was finishing up my packing, Kendall coming up here "to assist me" as he said, which ended up turning into him lounging on my bed while I piled things into my suitcase. If I;m a horrible girlfriend, then he's an even worse boyfriend.

The rest of the morning was fun. We ate and kid around most of the time downstairs. Kendall stole some food from my plate when I wasn't paying attention (Camille texted me, I couldn't ignore her), we attempted the Sudoku puzzle in the newspaper, failed that, continued joking around, and even went on Twitter on his phone. He even let me log into mine so I could follow him and the guys on the social networking site. And better yet, he followed me back. Ha, so now I don't just have a bus following me!

We separated after breakfast, him going to hang out with the guys since they finally woke up, and I going into my room to pack. Kendall had been in here for an hour, because that's how long it was taking me an hour. And I kept most of my stuff in the suitcase and put it back when I was done throughout my stay! Of course, being the amazing boyfriend he was, Kendall, offered to help me, which quickly turned into a How Many Times Can I Distract Jo Taylor game. And quite frankly, it was fun. He'd pull me in to kiss him a few times, he had pulled me down onto my bed so we could watch some Jim Carrey movie playing on ABC Family, and other similar things. Plus, I still had Camille texting me every so often, adding into the distractions.

"I don't want you to leave, either," Kendall said, his tone serious for the first time all morning, but quickly picked up a second later. "You know, the tour technically ended last night. I could always go back to Jersey with you and stay there until Gustavo needs us to record again," he suggested.

"What about your _Regis and Kelly_ gig tomorrow," I questioned, going to sit next to him on the bed.

"The guys will do alright without me, James can always sing my parts," he argued, pulling me to lie down next to him. I obliged, seeing as I only had one or two more things to put away. I quickly nestled in his embrace, resting my head on his chest as he rubbed his hand up and down my arm. It was weird to me how close we got within the last week or so, but honestly, it felt right to me. Every time I'm with him just makes me feel better, even when I'm in my bestest of best moods. And yes, 'bestest' is a word in my book. I feel safe around him, and cared for, and loved (or as loved as you could get for a new couple), and giggly, and even more sarcastic then general. And I'm very sarcastic to begin with. "Your hair smells really good," he thought aloud.

"Sure it does," I said, lightly giggling at the random outburst. "But what about those girls tomorrow that come to the show tomorrow holding 'I Heart Kendall' signs that have their phone numbers on them? They'll be disappointed when you don't show," I told him, not meeting his gaze. I was too comfortable to move my head. Hell, I could even fall asleep like this if I really wanted to.

I felt him shrug his shoulders. "They'll just have to deal with the fact that I'm dating someone else, and that I'd prefer to be with her," he answered. Aw.

"And then E! and Access Hollywood will peg you as the most selfish and obnoxious celebrity on the planet," I told him. Again, he shrugged his shoulders. Grr, would he stop doing that? I'm comfy laying like this.

"Stop, you're making it harder for me to want to go with you," he said. I could hear the evident pout in his voice, making me frown as well. Now I really did not want to leave.

"That's the point, buddy," I said, my hand patting his abdomen before I sat up. Or attempted to, really. When I pulled away from him, he pulled me back and held me down so I was lying on top of him, again. "Stop," I laughed lightly, his arm putting more pressure on my slender body so he was holding me tighter. "Stop," I repeated, trying to get up. "I need to finish packing," I tried, this time being able to sit up. Success!

"You've been packing all morning," he responded, his hand resting now at the small of my back as his thumb started stroking it softly. Really, did he have to start doing that?

"You've been distracting me all morning," I retorted, snatching my body away from his and moving towards my stuff resting at the foot of the bed.

"No I haven't, you're just easily distractible," Kendall said.

"You just admitted to distracting me," I said back.

"Okay, next topic," he announced, bringing his arms behind his head and laying back on my pillows. I laughed as I went back into the bathroom to grab the few toiletries I brought along. "I actually added a little more to that song we started last night," he told me.

"Yeah?" I questioned, coming out of the bathroom with my hair stuff in my hand. Not much, just the shampoo and conditioner I used daily, and a detangler spray I used a lot.

He nodded. "Yeah, not much, though. Just another line or two that could be added to the verse," he replied as I put my stuff back in my suitcase. He sat up a little. "Hold on, let me see that," he ordered, reaching to grab the conditioner and read the label. "Ah, so this is what your hair smells like," he said, turning the purple Herbal Essences bottle around so I could see it. Yeah, I think I know what I wash my hair with, thank you very much.

"Give that back," I chuckled, stealing the bottle back and putting it away. It was part of the Tousle Me Softly collection they had, so it had a lilac and pomegranate scent, or something like that. "Any idea on what the song's gonna be about?" I asked curiously.

"Not now," he said, giving a slight shrug. "If you were nicer to me, I'd write something about you, but you've been mean to me all morning, proving that I shouldn't," he added, smiling.

"Yeah, okay," I said sarcastically. "But speaking of song topics, you never told me what that one song was about last night," I told him, hoping this wasn't a sensitive topic for him. Well, it probably was, judging by last night, but I was still kind of curious to know.

Kendall sighed a little, his gaze fixated on the ceiling. Uh oh, maybe that was a bad idea to ask. "Honestly, it's not really about anything," he answered, not really looking at me. I took the opportunity to go back in the bathroom to grab the last few things I had in there, leaving the door wide open so I'd be able to hear him. "I wrote it around the time my dad came back into my family's life and when there was drama going on with that," I heard him say.

"Did he… like, walk out on you guys?" I asked, hesitating briefly.

"Might as well have," he answered as I stepped out. "The two of us were so close when I was younger. He got me into hockey when I was four and I met the other guys back then. He'd take me to high school matches at the rink, we'd talk about this one girl I had a crush on in second grade, he even taught me a couple of things about taking care of Katie when she was a baby," he said, smiling at everything he just said.

I couldn't help myself with the question asking. "What happened?" I asked concerned, zipping up my suitcase. Yes, finally done! He exhaled deeply, not turning away from the ceiling. Now I felt guilty for asking all this, and went to lie down next to him again. "Don't answer if you don't want to," I reassured him, resting my head on a propped up elbow.

"No, I want to tell you," he quickly responded, turning his head to look at me for the first time since we started talking about the divorce. One look at the sad expression in his eyes made me want to take back everything I said and just give a comforting hug. "It's just… kinda hard for me to talk about with anyone besides the guys," he said.

"Take your time," I said in a comforting tone. "You don't even have to tell me today, it's not so important that I need to know _right now_ or anything," I added, putting slight emphasis on the 'right now' part.

He smiled slightly, turning his body so he was facing me, propping his elbow like me and resting his head on it. "No, you have the right to know, especially since we are dating and all now," he said as he straightened himself out on the bed. I smiled wide at that last part, feeling his free hand rest over mine gently. He looked down at the comforter as he started talking again. "My parents, they… they just started fighting a lot after Katie's first birthday. Mostly over little things, like the laundry or who was driving me to school or something, but they soon turned into late-night screaming matches over anything and everything," he started to explain. "It kept me up at night most of the time, and Katie would wake up and start crying, so I'd have to go in her room and quiet her down so my parents wouldn't notice and maybe work things out quicker," he continued. He smiled a little and looked up to meet my gaze then. "That's actually when I started singing, I guess. I started singing Katie to sleep around that time, and kind of grew to like it since then," he said.

"I bet all your fans are pretty happy about that," I said with a comforting smile. He smiled a sympathetic smile back, and looked down again for a second. Yeah, that wasn't too smart to say. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like the fighting was good-" I rushed, but was quickly cut off by a small laugh from Kendall.

"Don't worry, I knew what you meant," he said, his facial expression and tone reassuring. Okay, I didn't upset him too much, then. "But, I guess the fighting got to be too much for my dad and such, because he ended up sleeping with someone at his work a couple years later," he continued. I nodded sympathetically and maneuvered my hand so it was on top of his, stroking it softly with my thumb in a comforting gesture and silently urging him to continue. "My dad was apologetic, of course. He and the girl were drunk, he said it was a result of stress or something like that, and insisted it was a one-time only thing. They never got together or anything after that, but my parents still filed for divorce about a week or two later. And once it was final, I didn't hear from him again for another five or six years," he concluded.

"I'm sorry," I said, not knowing what else to say.

His mood picked up slightly. "Don't be," he insisted, shaking his head a little. "It's not your fault, and everything's resolved now, for the most part," he said. "I talk with him a lot, Katie flies back to Minnesota every other weekend to see him, or he'll even fly out to LA and surprise us on occasion. He and my mom have worked things out, too, so it's all good now," he explained.

"That's great. He sounds like he was a good dad, too," I told him, smiling.

"He is, you'd love him if you met him," he said, now fully smiling. Yay, no more solemn talk. "My mom even says I get my sarcasm from him," he added.

"I love him already," I announced. A laugh bubbled out of Kendall's lips and he pressed his lips to mine in a simple kiss, lasting only a few seconds.

"Fly out to LA during your spring break or summer vacation or something. You can meet him then. And my mom, too," he said happily.

I jokingly pondered the thought for a second. "I'll think about it," I said teasingly. It did sound fun, I'd love to meet his family from everything I heard. And I'd really love it if he met my family, too, but not this soon, obviously. Kendall smiled back.

"Seriously, my mom and sister would love you, my sister especially. She's just as witty as you are," he informed me.

I laughed a little at that. "So, what got you to write that song?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged his shoulders a little. Seriously, he's been doing that all morning, will he stop? "My dad wanted to get more involved in mine and Katie's lives a few years ago, and it sparked up some brutal fights between him and my mom," he started, his voice thankfully not as sad as before, that's good. "Our school talent show was later that month; James was already signed up to sing something he wrote, and he was already begging me to sign up as well, since I was already playing the guitar and writing a lot. So I figured I'd write something inspirational to lighten up everyone's moods a bit and perform it for everyone that night," he finished.

"That sounds really nice," I said. "I bet they loved it."

"They did, especially my dad," he chuckled. "He came up to me after the show and said something along the lines of 'Dude, who knew you had a set of pipes on you!'" he said, smiling.

"I don't know, that kind of sounds like he hated it," I said, my tone unsure, jokingly of course.

He smiled at my lame attempt at a joke. "Shut up and finish packing," he ordered, playfully shoving me off the bed.

"But I'm done," I told him, moving closer to him.

"I don't care, leave," he laughed.

* * *

"Alright, the train should be here in a few minutes," I informed Kendall a little over an hour later. He was standing and waiting with me, making sure I got home safely. I said goodbye to the guys and Stephanie just before I left, earning hugs from each, and threats from James and Carlos. They said that if I cheated on Kendall with some guido or whatever back in Jersey, they'd hunt me down and beat me up, even though I was a girl. Well then. Logan promised me he'd keep them down if that were to happen, and wished me luck with all of my classes. Now that was nice, why couldn't the other two be that way?

Right now, Kendall has his arm wrapped securely around my shoulder as we're looking around the hustle and bustle of the train station. There isn't much room for us to sit, so we stood off to the side and had our own little conversation and tried to work out ways to keep in touch. Skype was a definite, as well as phone calls and text messages, and we'd find a way to fly out and see each other sometime soon.

"Yeah, you should probably go," he said sadly, taking his other arm and pulling me closer to him in a hug. I hugged him back, my arms snaked around his torso as his held me tight around my shoulders. I felt him kiss the top of my head before speaking again. "Text me the second you reach Newark," he told me.

"We'll see," I said as I pulled away. A smile graced his features as he looked at me.

"I'm serious," he chuckled slightly.

"I will," I said with a nod, "and every other chance I get," I added before he told me. He had been saying that ever since we got here, that I needed to text him every half hour or something.

He smiled. "That's my girl," he said, earning a giggle out of me, as well as a shiver. The station was _freezing_, even with my jacket and gloves on. I hated it. "Why are you so cold?" Kendall asked, laughing slightly at my suffering.

"Because I'm a girl, girls freeze easily," I told him.

"It's not that cold in here," he said.

"You're a guy, guys don't freeze easily," I added. He chuckled and started taking off his own jacket. "What are you doing?" I asked, my tone amused, as he placed it over a nearby trashcan's lid. Yeah, that's sanitary.

"Take your jacket off for a sec," he answered as he unzipped his black hoodie.

"No, I'm cold enough as it is," I playfully protested.

His hoodie was unzipped and he started stripping it off. "Just do it," he ordered. I sighed exasperatedly and took it off, Kendall coming behind me and putting the hoodie on over my shoulders. "Here, take this," he said as I put my arms through the sleeves. It was very loose on me, and smelled just like Kendall – a mix of Axe cologne, whatever shampoo he used, and his overall natural scent. I smiled and wanted to melt into his touch and the sweatshirt. I instantly felt myself warm up, even with the fabric of the sweatshirt being so thin. I felt his arms wrap around me again from behind and pull him closer. "I gotta say, you look kinda sexy in this," he said in a husky tone.

I smirked. "'Kinda sexy?'" I asked him amusedly, almost as if I was expecting him to correct that statement.

I heard him scoff slightly. "Well, it's my hoodie, so I automatically look sexier in it," he said, somewhat aggressively pulling me closer to him and kissing my cheek. I giggled and turned my head to kiss his lips, pulling away a second or two later. "You're scratchy now," I informed him, referring to the slight stubble on his face as I gave him a slight pout. How sad was it that I didn't notice that all morning up until now?

"Your point?" he questioned, a smirk evident on his face as well.

"It hurts to kiss you now," I said.

"Whatever, I'm not shaving anytime soon," he said, going to kiss my cheek again. He purposely stayed there for a few more seconds, obviously knowing I hated it. Damn him.

"Stop," I giggled, playfully swatting him away.

"Make me," he said, pulling away and turning me around.

"I will, I have to go, anyway," I said once I was facing him. His beanie was still on his head, and he was only in a white Taking Back Sunday shirt. He also had on a bunch of bracelets on his wrists, including the green and pink bracelet I gave him last week. He told me earlier in the week that he hadn't taken it off ever since.

We kissed again, but I didn't protest about the beginnings of his beard. I knew we wouldn't be doing this again for quite a while, and wanted to savor the moment as much as possible. We now stood in the same position as the first kiss we shared last night in the dressing room – his arms around my waist, my hands resting on his arms. No tongue, since we were very much in public right now, but it was still soft and passionate. My body reacted the same way to him as usual lately, my heart beating rapidly and my stomach doing somersaults.

I pulled away sadly when I heard the train pull up and an announcement came on over the sound system. "I'll text you when I'm in Newark," I reassured him.

"I'll be waiting," he said, pecking my lips one last time. I giggled softly, grabbing my stuff as he gave me my jacket back, and I left to catch the train.

* * *

**Is it okay? I really hope it is. The last chapter was a little too fluffy, so i figured I'd add in a serious moment in there. Plus, you know a little more about Kendall, and there's still some romantic fluffy moments in there for those who are into that stuff. Plus, has anyone else noticed the picture Kendall tweeted, like, a month ago of him when he didn't shave for two weeks? I had to put something like that in here! He looks hotter with facial hair :D Yeah, anyways enough of that. ****Review!**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	15. Author's Note

**What's up readers? Okay, first off, my apologies for posting an Author's Note rather than a chapter. I know you hate 'em – I do, too. But, I have a big favor to ask of you all, if you wouldn't mind…**

**Okay, so there's this new story circulating on here, if you'd categorize it as a story. :/ It's the 2011 BTR Fanfic Awards. And, I don't know why or how or who bothered to nominate me, but "Campus Crush" has been nominated for BEST ROMANCE KendallxJo story. Whoever is responsible, I want to THANK YOU SO EFFIN' MUCH! It means a lot to me, and i can't thank whoever is responsible enough for being considered :D So, the reason for this AN. If all you fine readers don't mind, would you go submit a review to that "story" and send in a vote for "Campus Crush"? I would really appreciate it. Or don't, I don't care. I just figured I'd get the word out and maybe, just _maybe_, get a couple more votes in? :D**

**Also, in the BEST ROMANCE Best OC category, two of my absolute, absolute favorite stories on here were nominated. "Hooked" by surfergal23, and "Past The Sorrow" by waterwicca. Go and vote for them too. Either or, I don't care, just show them some love. I entered a vote for both, and may get it disqualified because no double submissions are allowed :P But I don't care, I love them both, I love the authors, and I'd really love it if either of them won that category and anything else they were nominated for. So, send in a vote, flip a coin to choose which one, do whatever, just submit a vote for them. They truly deserve it.**

**Alright, I guess that's it. I'll post a link to the story in my profile right now. And expect a new chapter by the end of the week. Again, I'm terribly sorry for putting up an AN rather than an actual chapter, but I figured I'd get the word out for my story, surfergal23's, and waterwicca's. Vote for all three, vote for two of them, vote for just one, I DON'T CARE, just one of them at least.**

**Yeah, that's it, enough rambling. PEACE!  
-Megs**


	16. Chapter 15

**No way! You mean, I won a BTR Fanfic Award for Best Romance KendallxJo fic! Pinch me, I have to be dreaming!**

**Lol, THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH for all of your votes! You don't know how much that means to me. Being nominated was more than enought for me, and this is just, wow, I can't even comprehend it. I wrote out a little speech for you guys for in case this moment came *pulls out a ten-foot long scroll of names* Haha, jk. But on that topic, I saw that quite a few of my lovely reviewers sent in votes, and i want to thank them especially. waerwicca, surfergal23, BigTimeFan50, etc.; you know who you are! So this chapter's dedicated to all of you! Also, I saw ohers that i don't believe have sent in a review yet. Thank you so much for your support. I'm dedicating this chapter to you as well! And for those who did vote and never reviewed, don't be shy; review! I don't bite... much :P Haha, seriously, the more feedback and criticism, the better!**

**Also, I want to congrat writergirl27, who had two stories nominated for the same category. I heard some amazing things about her stories, and i can't wait to get the chance to read them. And congratulations to all the other winners :D Inclusing waterwicca's "Past The Sorrow" for Best Romance OC :) She deserves it, and i couldn't be any happier for her :D**

**Alright, so i say i give you guys another snippet of surfergal23's "Bittersweet" in celebration, don't you guys say? Yeah, i think so :D This should have been nominated too for Best KendallxJo, even if Jo is dead haha! But yeah, enough rambling here ya go; this is Carlos' POV in Chapter 4:**

_Carlos_

"_Mijo!_ Carlitos!" my mom screamed with joy from the kitchen, as I walked into my old, shady little house on Jenkins Avenue, Natalie behind me, carrying her own bag, much to her own choice. Believe me, I tried. Natalie was a hardworking business woman, who didn't let anyone do anything for her. At times it was very frustrating, but hey, she was definitely her own woman, one of the many things I loved about her.

"Mama," I chuckled out smiling, dropping my large oversize hockey duffle at the front door, and opening my arms. My small, 5'0'' mother, with short black hair, a pearly white smile and big earrings hurried over to me, throwing herself in my arms as she chuckled in joy. True, I never got to see my parents much, ever since we even went to LA. I had moved straight to Florida after Big Time Rush broke up, where I met Natalie, struggling through the medicine aisles in the supermarket to find some cure for a ridiculous hangover I had from celebrating my new employment at the Miami-Dade Police Department the night before. We had been inseparable ever since.

"Natta!" my mom exclaimed in her best Spanish accent with a smile, throwing me aside and immediately grasping my girlfriend in a tight hug. Natalie hugged my mom back with all the force in the world, dropping her bag in the process with a huge smile on her face. Natalie's parents had a nasty divorce when she was around ten, and since then, neither of her parents had cared much about her, which was such a shame, and part of the reason she had moved from New York to Florida in the first place. That's why for the past five years, she was definitely a part of the family already. My mother adored her, my father adored her, and I adored her.

"Where's Papi?" I asked my mom, taking my jacket off, rubbing my hands from the cold Minnesota chill. True, I had grown up here, spent sixteen years here, but the past decade or so in LA had done me in good with warm weather. I was a total beach bum, but still a Minnesota boy at heart.

"He went out to buy a pig for dinner tonight, Carlitos," my mom said busily, examining Natalie's bare, tan hand with a sad frown. We caught each other's eyes, as Natalie took her hand from my mother's upset, as my mom turned her frown upside down worriedly. Natalie knew exactly what she was getting at, as she took a deep sigh, looking into my mother's eyes. I knew she was going to act like this, like she did every time Natalie and I walked in the door.

"Well, I will let you two get settled, and then we'll talk over cappuccinos," my mom said excitedly, clasping her hands together, and turning into the kitchen to hurriedly make the foamy delight. Natalie came up to me and I sighed as she took my hands in hers with a small, sympathetic smile.

"I guess your mom enjoys the cappuccino machine we bought her for her birthday," she said with a chuckle, smacking her ruby red lips at me. I smiled and leaned in, kissing her forehead gently, looking down into her beautiful eyes.

"I guess so," I said smiling.

**Awww, gotta love Mama Garcia! Alright, FINALLY, here's Chapter 15!**

**Disclaimer: **Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. All songs I mention belong to their rightful owners. All title rights go to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

****WARNING: This chapter contains content that's refers to abuse and, for lack of a better term, borderline rape. If you're uncomfortable, feel free to skip the entire flashback portion.**

* * *

It's been a month now, yup, a whole fucking month. Can you believe it? Neither can I. Things with Kendall and I are great. I mean, besides the whole living on opposite side of the country thing, but we've made it work, for the most part. We've made a valiant effort to talk to each other everyday, even if it's a thirty second phone call or a goodnight text, we make sure to contact each other whenever we get the chance throughout the day. Kendall's been busy, which sucks. Everyday, the band is at the recording studio either dancing, harmonizing, rehearsing, having a meeting about the possible tour with The Summer Set, or, well, recording, duh! It is a recording studio after all. He isn't the only one, I've been busy too. Or, as busy as a college student can be. School, work, homework, projects, exams, and trying to maintain a social life? That's hard on an eighteen year old.

Today seems to be a good day, though. It's Thursday, any paper or project I had on my school agenda was completed, my shift at Jack's was done, and I had a plan to Skype with Kendall later. Amber and I also made plans to go see Camille's play one final time this weekend. It's finishing up on Sunday, and then the cast will continue doing a matinee type thing for all the elementary schools in the area throughout the next month. But not day after day, it'll maybe be once a week or something. And it's March, which also means it's only a few more weeks until my spring break. Halle-freaking-lujah. One month, no school, no work, tons of family time, my nineteenth birthday, and visiting Kendall are all in the works.

So, again, it's Thursday, around six-thirty. Camille's down at the theater getting into costume and preparing for her show later tonight. Amber, Will, and I are currently lounging in mine and Camille's dorm eating Chinese takeout. Yummy. Now we're just hanging out and talking about whatever comes to mind. Amber's sprawled out across Camille's bed, me on mine, and Will pulled up a blue beanbag chair closer to us. We haven't had a day like this in forever, even with Camille included. Well, yeah, there was us sitting at the diner a month ago, but the girls mostly talked about me and Kendall, and it wasn't fun for me either, so that doesn't count.

"So, Jo, you have plans for Sunday?" I heard Will, dipping his chopsticks into the white takeout carton.

"Uh, maybe a shift at Jack's, why?" I asked.

"Camille's inviting us to come to the cast party that night after the show," Amber informed me. It's probably the twentieth one they've had since the show opened. Tons of booze and sex. Camille even kicked me out one night last week when she brought someone up to our room. I had to spend the night in Amber's room with her roommate. Fun.

"And…?" I questioned, taking a bite of my own food.

"And what? Aren't you going?" Will asked.

I laughed halfheartedly into my vegetable lo mein. "No," I answered shortly, taking a small bite of my food.

"Why not?" Will asked, whining. Wow, real mature dude.

Amber caught on. "Come on, don't bug her into going," she said, stirring the food in her carton as she did so. I confided with her about the Jett thing. She knows everything that happened now. Or at least as much as I want her to know, that Jett was drunk and beat me until I slept with him. She hasn't heard the Camille-version of the story yet, and she won't, for a _long_ time.

I nodded. "Yeah, what she said," I agreed, twirling a few noodles around my chopsticks.

"Come on, you've never gone to a party since coming up here?" Will asked. Um hello, did you not hear your girlfriend five seconds ago? Drop it. I shook my head no. "What's your deal?" he continued.

"Parties and me don't mix," I responded, my tone casual.

He shook his head. "How do you not come up to fucking Atlantic City, New Jersey, go to college, and _not_ go to a party? It's un-American," he said. I chuckled at his final comment. "One of these days, I'm going to drag you to one of the biggest parties NJU has ever seen. You're gonna dance, get drunk, sleep with a manwhore, get hungover, I'll be laughing when you throw up; it'll be so much fun," he persisted.

I chuckled. "Admit it, you just want to see me naked again. How long has it been now, a week since we had sex?" I questioned.

His head snapped in my direction. "Shh," he responded quickly, holding an index finger to his lips. "I thought I told you to not bring up our late night rendezvous around Blondie back there," he said, his voice above a whisper, but still loud enough for Amber to hear.

She playfully gasped. "I knew it, I knew you were cheating on me!" Amber called, reaching behind to grab a pillow and threw it straight at the black-haired boy's head. Ooh, this is more fun than I thought it would be.

"Ow, that actually hurt!" Will laughed, rubbing the back of his head. Now it's even more fun! I love seeing him in pain. "But really, why won't you go to any party? You're in college. And I'll say it again, it's un-American if you don't party," he went on.

I shook my head and sighed. "Bad things have happened to me at parties," I answered.

His expression changed, looking more sympathetic. See, he does care. "Like what?" he asked.

"Don't," Amber pleaded, shaking her head.

"Yeah, please don't ask," I added, not looking up from my near-empty food carton. Will brought his hands up and apologized before going back to eating. "Anyways, on a lighter topic," I said, hoping to switch the conversation away from me for the moment.

* * *

_May 2009_

"_Now if she does it like this,  
"Will you do it like that?  
"Now if she touches like this,  
"Will you touch her right back?  
"Now if she moves like this  
"Will you move her right back?  
"C'mon  
"Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake it"_

"_Hey, have you seen Jett anywhere?" I asked Michelle, pulling her into a small, empty room of the warehouse we were in. Because that's where the prom after party was, an abandoned warehouse hidden in town. Every junior at Garner High School was here, along with a few other students in various grades, and the occasional guest from a different school. No one knew this place still existed, making it the perfect place to host a party._

_The main floor of the building was decorated with colored Christmas lights, and had a huge sound system installed last year by one of the then graduating seniors. The place was littered with loud, partially-drunken Junior Prom goers, being fuelled by the few kegs and bottles of vodka that were smuggled in. The floor was covered in plastic cups of different colors, food, napkins, tiny paper plates, broken glass, and anything else you could imagine at a somewhat out of control party. I was even surprised my parents even allowed me to come here. Then again, they were kind of like Nicole and Stephen Trager on _Kyle XY_ – very tolerant and permissive, but still supportive and loving, and still didn't allow me or my siblings to do certain things, like having sex. And they trusted me, they knew I wouldn't do anything stupid. I even made an effort to send my mom a text every twenty minutes to half hour when Jett and I left the restaurant prom was held at, adding on to my trustworthy factor._

"_Yeah, I think I saw him go out back with a couple of his friends," Michelle said, pointing to the backdoor that was all the way across the main room. Wuh-hoo._

_Thankfully, she and I were part of the… I'll say five percent of teens here that weren't tipsy or full-on drunk. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, though. Only an additional ten percent were completely wasted, and the rest were just tipsy. For now. I had maybe a few sips of beer a short while after I came, but that was the extent of my drinking. I decided to keep an eye on my friends and Jett, and be one of the few designated drivers here, if need be._

_I turned back to the slim brunette. "Thanks," I said in a rushed voice, leaving her to go find Jett. I lost him about twenty minutes ago, when one of my friends ran outside to throw up and I went to check on her. That was fun, not. Now, I have no idea where he is._

_I made my way through the crowd of teens, being bumped into by people maybe thirty times? Yeah, that sounds about right. Mostly everyone was still in their prom attire, including Michelle and me. I was wearing soft yellow mini dress with a ruffled tulle skirt and beaded strapless bodice. I had silver strappy heels on with it, a small silver clutch, a simple, dainty necklace around my neck, and a few of my favorite rings and bracelets. My hair was pulled back into a neat, twisted bun that was secured toward the right side of my head. My makeup was a little more dramatic than usual, even including shimmery gray eyeliner and a few false eyelashes on the corners of my eyes. Hello! If you knew me then, that was a _huge_ deal! Michelle looked gorgeous tonight, too. She wore a black mini halter dress with black pumps and silver jewelry. Her usually straight, brown hair was curled and worn down with her bangs pulled back with a few studded bobby pins._

_I dodged a few more drunken teens as I made my way towards the opening in the back, blocked by a screen door. I pulled it open quickly, seeing what was going on out here. There was a couple off to the side making out, obviously part of the drunken ten percent. The guy was even unzipping the girl's dress a little as I walked past them. Ew, not while I'm out here, please? There was a table set up with six juniors and seniors surrounding it, a round of beer pong being played. The last group of people I saw were a small group of athletes and the school slut, Gianna, gathered around a keg as they tried to hoist her body u[ to perform a keg stand. One of them I recognized right on the spot._

"_Jett!" I called angrily, storming across the grassy area towards him and his friends. Neither of them heard me, letting go of Gianna's legs and seeing her hold her entire body up on her arms, squealing happily as the guys hollered and whooped. "Jett David Stetson!" I tried again, this time turning my boyfriend around harshly to face me. He looked terrible, to say the least. His usually bright and alive hazel eyes were slightly bloodshot and fogged over. His hair was disheveled, his black blazer was elsewhere (that didn't surprise me too much, though), the yellow vest and tie he wore to prom were almost completely undone, and even the top few buttons of his white collared shirt were unbuttoned._

"_Joannaaa, hiii," he slurred out happily, pulling me to him with one of his arms. His sweaty arm, with faded cologne and breath that wreaked of alcohol. Yuck. Plus calling me by my first name like that? Oh, it is on now. "Look who it iiissss," he said to his friends, pulling me impossibly closer to him. I swear, I'm on the verge of suffocating right now._

"_Hey," his best friend Trevor chuckled, coming towards us. "It's the jealous girlfriend!" he hollered, coming to my other side and wrapping his own arm around me. Again, yuck._

"_Get off of me!" I yelled, scrambling away from the two of them. I turned around to see them laughing and fist-bumping each other. What was so funny in the first place? "What the fuck were you doing, Stetson-"_

"_Hey, don't yell at him," Trevor exclaimed, quickly coming to his best friend's defense. Normally I'd think that's sweet. But now, well, not so much. "He was just simply having a little fun with his buddies," he added._

"_Oh yeah, fun. Getting drunk and hanging out with the school's biggest tramp sounds like loads of fun! Why didn't you call me out here to join you?" I responded sarcastically, letting out a halfhearted chuckle. "I'm sure that every girl in this school, including myself, would love feeling Gianna up-" I continued, before getting cut off again by Trevor. Geez, would he ever let me finish my sentences?_

"_Well, can you blame him! You haven't given him any since before Spring fuckin' Break!" Trevor screamed, probably loud enough for everyone inside to hear him. I didn't care at the moment, though. I had bigger issues to deal with right now, duh!_

"_We've never had time!" I exclaimed. That was true, my parents thankfully never found out about the night before Spring Break started, but still kept me from sleeping over at his house, or him from sleeping at mine. Busy schedules. And I was already an angry mess seeing Jett out here and doing what he was doing. First he left me all alone after I helped a friend out, already drank a lot before hand, and now I catch him feeling up the biggest whore in town with all of his buddies. Now, I was borderline furious. I turned back to Jett. "Is that what you complain about with your buddies, huh? Huh?" I asked my boyfriend. Did I have a problem with him talking about his sex life with his friends; no. Did I have a problem with him _complaining_ about his sex life with his friends; hell to the fucking yes._

"_Come on babyyy, can you blame mee," he asked, still slurring on occasion._

_I felt tears prick at my eyes. "That's it, I'm out," I said softly, turning around and heading back inside the warehouse._

"_Joooe, wait," I heard Jett call, as I continued walking. I ignored him, obviously. A couple seconds later, I heard footsteps from behind, making me quicken my pace. There was no way Jett would catch up to me at his state._

_I caught up to Michelle inside, seeing her dance with her boyfriend, both surprisingly still sober. Odd, but great! Someone I can complain to. "Michelle," I called over the loud Kelly Clarkson song that was playing, my voice wavering slightly with sadness._

_She quickly whipped her head around to me. Her boyfriend, too. "Jo, what's wrong?" she asked concerned, both stopping their dancing to see what was up._

"_Look, Jett and Trevor and I just got into this fight and I'm not really in the mood to stick around," I explained briefly. "Can I just borrow your car keys to get home?" I asked her. She and her boyfriend arrived separately for some unknown reason, and Jett drove me over about an hour or so ago._

"_Sure," she answered quickly, rummaging through the small clutch around her shoulder for her car keys. "Do you actually want me to drive you home?" she offered. "It'll take me fifteen minutes to drive you there and back here," she added._

_I knitted my eyebrows together. "It takes ten to get to my house," I reminded her._

_She smirked. "Like I said, fifteen minutes," she said over the music, handing me her keychain anyway. You see, this is why I love Michelle._

"_Thanks, but stay here and have fun," I said, accepting her keys._

"_Are you sure?" she asked._

_Her boyfriend, a junior from another local high school, piped in. "Yeah, I can leave Shelly here with one of your friends and drive you back myself," he offered with a thick southern accent, wrapping an arm around the brunette. Michelle giggled softly at her special nickname, leaving me to roll my eyes at the new couple._

_I smiled graciously, but shook my head regardless. "No, stay, have fun," I said. Michelle nodded, quickly embracing me in a hug._

"_Text me as soon as you get to the house. I'll come and sleepover tonight if you need it," she said in my ear. Aw, such a good bestie. "I'll pick my car up at your place tomorrow morning," she added before pulling away._

"_Great," I said, a sad smile gracing my features._

_Her boyfriend came up and hugged me next. "You take care of yourself," he said, "Drive safe."_

"_I will, thank you," I told him as I pulled away. "I'm really sorry about all this trouble," I apologized quickly._

"_Don't be and go," Michelle said, shoving me playfully towards the exit. I laughed slightly and said goodbye quickly as the song changed to a club remix of one of Beyoncé's hit songs this year._

_A moment later found me heading towards Michelle's white 2005 Ford Focus, which was oh so conveniently parked next to Jett's year old, maroon-red Honda Civic. Just as I was unlocking her car, I heard footsteps come up behind me again, and my name get called. "Joooo," the voice called, the person coming up behind me._

_I sighed. "Jett, leave me alone," I begged, going to open the driver's door of Michelle's car._

"_Jo, listen to me," Jett's voice said, not as slurred as before. That's good, right? Wait Jo, focus. Be mad, be angry._

"_Leave me-"_

"_Listen to me!" Jett boomed, yanking on my arm and turning me around to face him. I felt a wave of fear wash over my body. I had never seen him look this angry, even in our worst fights._

"_Get off of me!" I exclaimed, releasing my arms from his grip. Yes, that's good._

"_Not untiiilll you apologize for yooouurrr- your behavioorr back therrreee," he said, going back to his slurs. Yeah, that shows authority, I'll totally listen and follow your every command._

_"I have nothing to apologize for," I told him in a stern voice. "If I didn't come out there, you'd be fucking Gianna Fowler up right now, and then where would that lead us, huh?"_

"_Don't yell at meee like that!" he yelled, shoving me against Michelle's car._

"_Get off of me!" I exclaimed, earning a hard slap right across the face. Ouch. "Owww!" I yelled, bringing a hand to my now possibly reddened cheek. I noticed that he was now unlocking his car, giving me extremely uneasy feelings. He wasn't going to drive me some place while drunk was he?_

"_Get in the car," he said sternly, opening the back door._

_I should have stopped right there and gotten into Michelle's also unlocked car, but my stubborn mind wouldn't let me. I crossed my arms over my chest. "Make me," I told him harshly._

_Not a smart move. Because he literally made me._

_A minute or two later, I was pinned down to the backseat of the Honda Civic, Jett either pressing his lips to mine forcefully or screaming slightly slurred orders at me._

"_Make- make lovvve to meee," he stammered drunkenly._

_That's it, I couldn't take this anymore. "No, I won't," I told him. Of course, that got me another hard slap on the same cheek. But did I stop there? No. I couldn't even if I wanted to. "Get off me!" I tried again. This time, I got a punch in the chest, definitely leaving some bruising on my breasts. I inhaled sharply at the contact, hearing Jett give me orders in his drunken (or maybe just tipsy at this point, since he seemed to have sobered up slightly since the keg-stand incident moments ago) tone._

"_Make love to me, you bitch!" Jett's voice rang in my ears._

* * *

"Are you okay?" Kendall asked me on the phone a little less than an hour after Amber and Will left.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" I asked him coolly. I was lying on my bed, flipping through a random magazine from the evergrowing pile on our nightstand. Not sure which, I wasn't even paying attention to any of the articles or ads in there.

"I don't know, you just sound a little down tonight," he answered.

I shrugged, even though I knew he wouldn't see it. "Just had a rough day, I guess," I replied nonchalantly.

"Well, what made it so bad?" he asked, concerned.

I smiled at his protectiveness. "Just stuff," I answered. "Nothing too important for you to worry about, I promise," I added.

"Are you sure?" Kendall asked, his tone still unsure.

"I promise," I told him, my voice more definitive.

I heard him sigh over the phone. "Alright, whatever you say," he said.

"Hey listen to me," I said, hoping to grab his attention. "There's nothing to worry about. I promise I'll tell you if something is seriously bothering me, okay?" I asked him.

I could sense him smiling over the phone. "Okay," he answered.

"Great," I said with a smile.

"Alright now onto more important topics," he said, his tone more upbeat. Yay. "When are you coming out here? I need to see you again," he told me.

I giggled over the phone. "I told you already, the first week of April," I answered. "It's not that far away," I reassured him.

"Liar, it is far away," he reminded me. "April's about two or three weeks away," he added.

"You've gone a month without seeing me in person, a couple more short weeks won't hurt you that much," I said lightheartedly.

"Fine," he sighed. "But if it does kill me, I'm leaving nothing for you in my will," he added. Hey!

"Some boyfriend you are," I said, feigning hurt.

"The greatest," he replied. I giggled before we continued our conversation.

* * *

"Here you guys go," I said in a fake cheerful voice the next morning, setting plates of food in front of their respectful orderee. Like that? I invented that word specifically for my job here. "Would you like some refills on those drinks?" I asked, already grabbing their near empty glasses of orange juice and iced tea. The table's occupants all nodded or gave some form of yes before I disappeared behind the counter to the soda fountain

Did I mention to you how much I hate morning shifts at the diner? No, how about how much I'm hating that Casey girl I'm covering for? It's not her fault, but come on! This is the fourth time this month! Me no like morning shifts.

As I filled their drinks respectively, a young man sat at an empty bar stool behind the counter. Déjà vu? Yup, think so. Didn't something like this happen last month? "Give me a second, I'll be right there," I told him rushedly, filling the last glass.

"Jo?" the guy asked. Gee, he sounded familiar. I turned around, nearly dropping the glass in my hand. A smile appeared on the guy's face, making his hazel eyes light up a little.

"Jett?" I asked cautiously.

His smile widened. "Hey, Jo," he greeted nervously and happily. Fuck.

* * *

**I rlly don't like the ending, I feel its rushed just so i could end it and post tonight. Plus, Jett's in Jersey now, making me not like it that much either :( ANd the whole chapter is kinda Jett-centric. Actually, this whole chapter wreaks of Jett. Blah, there's his name again. Okay, i'm done with all the... let's see, I don't wanna type his name again, the You-Know-Who-talk. Yeah, that works :P**

**So yeah, review as alway. And again, thank you so much for the nominations, votes, and award! :D**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	17. Chapter 16

**Happy belated-Pi Day to all you fellow math geeks out there! :D And yes, i am one of them, don't judge me!**

**Alright, so this is pretty lengthy, the chapter itself is around 5200 words. So this, plus the "Bittersweet" preview, will probably make it around 6000+ words. Idk, we'll find out when i click the save button in a minute.**

**So this chapter actually does have some drama in here. Yay? Nay? You tell me. Now, a lot of you have asked me if the first JoxJett flashback was real or fake, so let me answer that with a big fat YEEESSSS! In fact, this chapter sort of continues that flashback, adds on to the previous one, and even goes back a few hrs to just before prom. It may get confusing, but at least you get to see how alcohol dramatically effects Jett's judgement, which does play a part in their struggles. And we meet Mrs. Taylor briefly in there :D I'll go into more detail with her when we meet the whole family, and i'll explain a little bit about each of her parents and siblings. So again, yay, nay? Let me know.**

**Alright here's a preview of Chapter 5 of surfergal23's "Bittersweet." And then onto Chapter 16 :D**

_Logan_

"I don't want to go in there, Logan."

"I know sweetheart, but you're gonna regret if you don't."

"I-I can't say good-bye to her yet, I can't see Kendall, I can't-I can't do it."

"Camille, look at me."

Camille casted her teary brown eyes up at me in the snowy parking lot of Benson's funeral home. The sounds of heels shuffling towards the bustling funeral home broke the silence we had created. I took her soft white face in my hands, her brown curls flush against her face, and I softened my glare.

"You have to say good-bye, sweetheart. Kendall needs you there, Taylor needs you there…and I need you there," I whispered out, biting my lower lip. Camille nodded silently, tears leaking out of her eyes as I kissed her forehead gingerly. I grasped her cold, manicured hand tightly as we walked into the basement on the funeral parlor.

Of course it was musty, like every other funeral parlor in the world, but I could hear the light chatter, and small sniffles of a group of people down the hallway. I didn't even need any direction on where to go, as groups of people I kinda recognized as Jo's family made their way down the hallway to the door.

Me and Camille made our way down the hallway, holding hands tightly as her sobs began to start again, walking into the room. It was somber with groupings of people in black, looking around at the mess of beautiful flowers surrounding Jo's elegant casket, along with pictures of Kendall and Jo from teenagers to where they were now. There were a whole slew of pictures from the night that Kendall had learned he'd been selected out of twenty other men to receive the high paying job at New Town High School.

Our alma mater was the best hockey team in the state, and with Kendall Knight as coach, his goal was to make NTH the best high school hockey team in the mid-west, and quite possibly, the country. Jo had thrown Kendall a big surprise party once learning that he had the position, so very proud of his accomplishment.

"You okay?" I asked Camille lightly, tears streaking down her face as she nodded. I arched my head around the room for any sign of Kendall, Carlos, James, Mrs. Knight or Katie, but I saw no one. They were indefinitely closer to the casket.

"Come on, let's go up and say a prayer," I whispered gently, as Camille squeezed my hand tightly, navigating through out the sea of black, grey and navy blue attire. Once painfully emerging from the sea of mourners, we saw Kendall.

He stood right by Jo's casket, in a morbid black suit, a grey tie, his hair loosely gelled back a bit, staring out in the open while Mrs. Knight rubbed small circles on his back, holding a beautiful baby girl in the other arm.

"_Jesus_," I muttered under my breath, my eyes connecting with my friends red and watery ones.

**Ooh, funeral's gonna be intense, i can tell. Well, i should, cuz i already read this, like you should! But read and review this first, why don't ya?**

**Disclaimer: **Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. All songs I mention belong to their rightful owners. All title rights go to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

**WARNING: This chapter deals again with rape-related topics. Don't read if you're uncomfortable with it.**

* * *

"What-?" I started, shocked. "What are you doing up here?" I asked him.

"I was really hoping to talk to you," he answered casually, his face showing hopefulness and concern. Oh boy.

I scoffed slightly. "Why would you want to talk to _me_, of all people?" I asked, arranging the newly filled drinks on a tray.

"Come on Jo, give me a break," he ordered.

"How can I, after all the hell you put me through junior year?" I asked him.

He sighed softly. "Look, I'm really sorry about all the drama I cause," he apologized. I smirked and scoffed at him again. "Just listen," he told me, holding his hand up in protest to what I was going to say next. Alright… you just continue on then, got it. "I truly am sorry. And I was really hoping to talk to you in person about… well, us," he ended.

I knitted my eyebrows together in confusion. "What do you mean?" I asked.

Jett sighed again. "I really want to clear the air between us, and maybe try to get back together with you?" he stated, ending it more as a question. What? That was unexpected.

"I… I-I have to go," I stammered, picking p the drinks and quickly bringing them back to the table. There, sitting at the counter, was Jett Stetson – former starting linebacker for the Garner High football team, center for the basketball team, and first love of Jo Taylor. He was even wearing his old red and white varsity jacket right now as he skimmed through a menu. Why the fuck was he even up here?

I quickly pulled another waitress, a senior at the nearby high school, aside when she was done with one of her tables. "Courtney," I pleaded, motioning for her to come near the door that led to the restrooms. It was behind a small wall with a fogged glass window, and was right next to the counter. The seventeen year old walked over, a curious expression gracing her features. "Hey, mind taking care of that guy in the red jacket at the bar for me?" I asked, trying to hide the panic that had washed over me ever since I locked eyes with Jett.

"Um, sure?" she responded questioningly. Guess I didn't hide the said panic too well. "I'll wait on him, then."

"Thank you!" I exclaimed softly, embracing her in a tight hug. Courtney chuckled awkwardly, wrapping her own arms around me back. "You have no idea how much that means to me," I told her before separating.

She chuckled again. "Geez, you must really have some issues with him," she wondered aloud.

I sighed, still keeping the smile on my face to not show any sadness. "You have no idea," I said as we walked away from the restrooms.

The next half hour consisted of me constantly checking on my tables, taking on one or two extra ones, and, well, ignoring Jett. I even hid in the bathroom for five minutes when he was finishing up the breakfast sandwich he ordered, frantically texting Camille that he was here. It thankfully worked. Until I got out to check on my other tables. He was paying Jenny up front by the register. I walked past him on my way to delivering another tray of food to one of my tables. On my way back, he caught my eye, gave me a sympathetic smile, and waved briefly before walking out the door.

What the hell just happened exactly?

* * *

_April 2009_

_"__I love you so much, Joanna," Jett told me._

"_I love you too, Jett," I said with a smile, going to kiss him again. "Happy Anniversary," I said as we parted from each other._

_He smiled back. "Happy Anniversary, baby," he said sweetly, leaning in to kiss my mouth again. He soon lead a trail of kisses that lead to the crook of my neck, where he kissed and nibbled softly at the skin. I giggled lightly at his touch, turning my body slightly to face him as I enjoyed the rest of his kisses. "What do you say, Jo, wanna go for round two?" he asked lustfully._

_I giggled once more. Sex will do that to you, I concluded. It makes you all giggly. I hate it. But Jett makes me love it at the same time. I nodded eagerly as he lifted his head to meet my gaze. "Take a guess," I told him an equally lustful voice, pulling his chin closer to my face with my index finger and gently kissed him. Before I knew it, his muscly, toned body towered over mine as I pulled away for a brief second. "You're excited about this, huh?" I asked in a playful tone._

_He shrugged, a huge smirk playing on his thin lips. "Just a tad," he responded before kissing me again._

_

* * *

_

_May 2009_

"_Are we seriously the first ones here?" I asked with a laugh as Jett helped me out of the red colored Honda Civic. Aw, such a gentleman._

_He laughed back, as well. "Yeah, I think so," he said, looking around the restaurant parking lot. The main part of it was relatively packed, but the part by the banquet hall was empty, save for a few cars that belonged to some of Jett's friends. He turned back and faced me. "What time does the invitation say, again?" he asked, closing the passenger door._

_Yes, our school is that cheesy to hand out invitations. We got them our first period this morning, and were written out in the fanciest, Old-English style script font on lime green printer paper from the computer lab, and were given out in small white envelopes with our names handwritten across the front by someone on student council. Really official. There was even a thick, black outline of the Eiffel Tower behind the text, going along with our prom's theme, A Night In Paris. I snatched the folded piece of paper out from my small silver clutch, and scanned over the words quickly._

_The Class of 2010 cordially invites you to celebrate A Night In Paris. Dance the night away under the Eiffel Tower at Garner High School's 2009 Junior Prom._

_Where: The Lodge Restaurant – 187 Main Street, Garner, North Carolina  
When: Saturday, May 2__nd__, 2009  
Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm_

"_Six-thirty," I answered before stuffing the brightly colored invitation in my clutch. "What time is it now?" I asked him._

_He snatched his cell phone out of the pocket of his black dress pants and opened it, chuckling. "5:22," he answered before stuffing it back in his pocket._

_I laughed lightly. "Really? We got here more than an hour early?" I asked him as we walked hand-in-hand to the main entrance of the restaurant._

"_Hey, it's not my fault, it's Stephen and Nikki's for organizing the getting ready, the meeting time, the pictures, the early dinner, the this, the that…" he listed as we neared his group of friends. Stephen was one of his good friends, and his girlfriend Nikki was our class's vice president and possible valedictorian when graduation rolled around, so she was super organized and followed everything to a T._

"_Hey, it's not my girl's fault, either!" Stephen called jokingly, as he was in hearing distance of us._

_The light brown haired girl next to him smiled and nodded. "Yeah, what he said," she argued teasingly._

_The group of us that was there stood in the parking lot and joked around for a couple of minutes before going inside, entering the building through the front door. Why did we park by the banquet hall again? Our class advisors – a very sarcastic English teacher that everyone loved, and one of the History teachers – sat at a table near the front with the list of all the names who paid for tickets and where they were to be seated. We bantered back and forth with them before being told where our tables were._

_Jett and I entered the banquet hall, and even I had to admit, I was captivated by what I saw. There were somewhere between twenty and thirty tables scattered around one half of the room, beautifully set with a white table cloth and the proper table settings. The centerpieces consisted of a few black and blue balloons, with silver sequins scattered around the whole table. Along the main wall sat a much smaller scale of the Eiffel Tower, decorated with white Christmas lights and sitting against a dark blue backdrop, a fake cobblestone walkway in front of it with a few benches and small streetlights near the backdrop. There was even a canvas backdrop of a park that seemed to be in Paris, where I imagined pictures would be taken. A tripod and camera sat in front of it, so that was a dead giveaway. There was a fake-wooden dance floor (you know the kind I'm talking about?) resting near a DJ booth, where a guy in his early-forties was setting up the sound system._

"_Wow, this looks amazing," I gushed as Jett and I went to our assigned table. Jett's whole group was sitting here, and my friends' table was right next to us, so I could easily talk to Michelle and everyone over dinner._

_Jett shrugged. "Eh, it's better than I thought it'd be," he said, letting me place my purse on one of the chairs at the rounded table._

"_Shush, you don't know how hard Nikki and everyone worked on this," I said._

"_True, but still. Next year, everything has to be more extravagant. I'm surprised they wasted some of our budget on all this stuff," he went on._

_I scoffed jokingly. "Whatever, I like it, and it looks nice," I said, turning my body so I was facing his. His arms snaked around my waist and he planted a soft, chaste kiss on my lips._

"_Whatever makes you happy will make me happy," he responded._

"_You're too sweet," I said, bringing my hand up to his face and traced his slightly stubbly jaw line._

"_I know," he answered cockily. He pecked my lips again before grabbing my hands and giving them a gentle squeeze. "You wanna go out back for a second, see the lake behind this place?" he suggested._

_I smiled. "I'd love to," I answered. The Lodge was this beautiful, somewhat upscale restaurant in Garner. It had a rustic feel to it, lined with wood paneled walls, and even had a stone fireplace in the main dining room. Not the banquet hall, we weren't special enough to get that. Sigh. It wasn't completely a suit-and-tie type of place to eat, but you still couldn't come in jeans and a t-shirt. Jeans and a golf polo, maybe, my dad has done that. It's kind of a business-casual type of place. Yeah, that's the term. But even better, The Lodge sat along a small, quiet pond that was in the back. There was a patio with seating in the back so people could go and sit by the water if they chose. On top of the good food served here, it was the main reason why everyone loved to eat here._

_A moment later found Jett and I leaning against the black metal fence that was edged around the pond. There were a few female mallards that paddled across the water, ten ducklings I counted following them and quacking their tiny little hearts out._

"_Aw, look at them!" I gushed happily, pointing at one of the mother ducks sink her head into the water for food._

_Jett chuckled. "Oh, look at her," he said in his own excited tone, referring to the same duck I was looking at. She had a green, stringy plant in her beak and was feeding it to her young, who accepted it and quacked happily again._

_I sighed and looked up at the sky. It had to be almost six by now. The sun was an orange-yellow color and was just beginning its descent behind the horizon. "It's so beautiful out here," I said, studying the scenery a bit._

"_Maybe," Jett replied. I looked at him with a soft, happy expression on my face. "It's not as beautiful as you are," he added._

_I ducked my head to hide the crimson color creeping up to my face. "Stop," I said bashfully._

"_I would if it wasn't the truth," I heard him say. He pulled my head back up to his, and kissed me softly. In a way, it reminded me of the kiss Jack and Rose shared in _Titanic_, just after he gave her the portrait he drew. You know, Rose giggling into it, Jack pulling her closer, and all the love and lust that was shared in those brief few seconds? It was exactly like that, damn giggling and all._

_Tonight is going to be one of the best nights of my young life, I can feel it._

_

* * *

_

I laid in the backseat of Jett's car later that night, heavily catching my breath as my boyfriend (I'm questioning whether or not I should still call him that) struggled to put his black dress pants back on in the small space. The insides of my mouth tasted of alcohol and vomit (blech!), and my whole body felt sore. My face and chest from his hits, and my center was definitely more sensitive than it should be. Thankfully though, as I noticed a few of my drunken classmates walk past the car, I was relieved that I wasn't completely undressed. Again, thank God! Really, Jett just pulled my yellow dress up and pulled down the white, lacy thong I had on underneath. I purposely bought it for this purpose later tonight, but not for what actually happened.

_Jett didn't completely undress, either. He only removed his pants and boxers, tossed his tie to the floor, and left his shirt and vest unbuttoned on his body. That was solely for me tracing out his six pack, so he would be even more pleasured, as if the alcohol and my "sexy self" (his slurred words, not mine) didn't turn him on enough._

_I get it, you're drunk. But what the fuck made you want o hurt me like that?_

"_Th-that was… amazing," he stammered out, zipping up the fly of his pants._

_I nodded, my gaze fixated on the ceiling. "Uh-huh," I said quietly, swallowing the huge lump that had formed in my throat meanwhile._

_He chuckled, and I did not like it. It sounded evil. That evil sultan-dude from _Aladdin_ is crossing my mind now. The guy with the talking bird, what was his name again? "I loved it!" he exclaimed. "Best fucking sex of my life," I heard him continue excitedly._

"_Uh-huh," I repeated, nodding and gulping once more._

_All was silent for a few seconds as Jett reached down to the floor to grab his tie. He came up after a moment, bringing a hand up to his mouth. "Oh, God," he muttered, and fumbled with the passenger door's latch. It swung open a second later and he stumbled out. I stayed put, tears brimming my brown eyes as he ran (still intoxicated) to wherever and threw up on the grassy plane in front of the warehouse. I heard a few "ew's" from passerby girls, but didn't recognize the voices._

_I let out a strangled sob and sat up, wincing slightly. I continued crying as the past few moments replayed in my head. I don't understand! He was always so nice and sweet and caring and loving. He was the typical, all-American boy, and the nicest boyfriend a girl could have. Jett played football and basketball, took one or two AP classes, was unbelievably gorgeous, and had a smile to die for. He was so gentle and loving last month when we went all the way, and now he- he- I don't even want to think about it anymore._

_I found my thong on the car's floor a second later, and slipped that on over my legs before scrambling out of the car myself. I slammed the door behind me, still sobbing silently, and thanked God once again, this time for Michelle's car being next to Jett's. I quickly hopped into the drivers' seat and slid the keys into the ignition. The radio was on, and was tuned in to a Top 40 Country Music station of some sort. A Jason Aldean song blared out of the speakers, but I couldn't recognize it even if I wanted to. I turned the volume up all the way and rested my head on my fists, resting on the steering wheel. I let go. Of everything, the fear, the stress, the hurt, the anger, the betrayal, everything I had just gone through in the car next to mine. I sobbed loudly, not caring who heard me._

"_I'm home," I called into the house twenty minutes later, walking through the front door. I could still hear the sadness in my voice, but hoped neither of my parents would detect it. It took me the usual ten minutes to drive home after my breakdown moments before, and then spent a couple extra minutes trying to wipe away the smudged mascara and cover my faded makeup as best I could, so no one would no what happened to me. They couldn't find out. No one could._

"_Oh sweetie, how was it?" my mother asked happily, walking into the front foyer from the adjoined living room. One look at me, and her whole face dropped. Damn, I didn't hide it well enough. "Jo," she said softly and carefully, coming closer to me._

_I lost it again. "Mommy," I cried as she quickly embraced me, and more tears pulled out of my eyes. Her arm wrapped securely around as her free hand rubbed gentle circles on my back. I sobbed softly into her long sleeved shirt as she shushed me, and soon led me back into the living room._

_We sat on the couch and faced each other as best we could. Well, I didn't really have a choice in the matter. She faced my body towards hers as best she could. "Oh, Jo, sweetie," she said softly, brushing my bangs away from my face and brought them back to the side bun in my hair. "Baby what happened- what is that on your face?" she asked alarmed, her hand going to the slight bruise that formed on my cheekbone. Oh yeah, that was still there. It was impossible to really cover that with a little blush._

"_Nothing," I responded quickly, too quickly, and brushed her hand away from my face._

"_Jo, this isn't nothing," she said in her mom voice. You know, concerned but really stern? Yeah, that._

"_It's nothing!" I repeated._

_She narrowed her brown eyes at me. "Joanna Elizabeth," she said. Ooh, the middle name. That's never good for anyone. Her tone changed from that mom voice to extremely caring and concerned. "What happened? Did Jett do this to you?" she asked._

"_No," I answered. She cocked an eyebrow at me, obviously knowing I was lying. Special mom talents. I sighed and nodded, looking at the floor. "Yeah," I gave in._

_She took my hand in hers, rubbing the back of it with her thumb soothingly. She took her free hand and brought an index finger just under my chin, tilting my head up to meet her brown-eyed gaze. "Sweetie, what happened?" she asked._

_I looked down again, trying to block the new batch of tears threatening to fall. "It was terrible, mom," I said, trying to stall as a lie concocted in my brain. She couldn't find out what Jett actually did to me. "Jett… he was drunk, and I went to help a friend with a boy problem," I started. Good, that's a start, and a little bit of a lie. Maybe I'll get somewhere. "And when we met up again, we… w-we got into this huge fight, and…" I trailed off, flashbacks of the car sex replaying in my brain and a lump formed in my throat. C'mon Jo, hurry up, lie better. Hell, lie in general, you're spilling the whole story at this point. "And it just got so crazy, and Trevor got involved…" Hurry up! "And, he just… he hit me, and his buddies laughed, and I-I was just so pissed that I left him there," I ended. Good, that works. It's out of character of him, he was drunk, his friends were around, peer pressure, it all works. Nice._

"_Oh, Jo," my mom said sympathetically, tucking more fallen blonde strands behind my ear. I collapsed into her body again as I started sobbing again._

_How did everything change between us so quickly?_

* * *

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, rewind and freeze for a sec," Camille demanded. "That mother fucking son of a bitch wants to get back together with you, after all that shit he put you through?"

"Those were my exact words to him," I said, hanging my head upside down on my bed like I did in Stephanie's hotel room last month, facing Camille, who sat on her bed with a shocked expression on her face.

"Was he serious when he said it?" she asked.

I nodded. "As serious as a heart attack," I answered.

She jumped off her bed. "Alright, where's he staying? I'm gonna beat the shit outta him!" she exclaimed, earning a laugh out of me for the first time all day, and it was around eight o'clock right now. Gotta love Camille when she's like this, right?

"Google him, go on Facebook, find out for yourself," I sighed, sitting up on my bed and turning to rest against the headboard, pulling my knees up a little.

"Why is he up here anyway?" Camille asked. Um, we just established that two seconds ago. "Did he say anything else about his reason to come up her, to freaking New Jersey, just out of the blue like this?" she continued.

I shrugged. "Nothing I didn't already tell you," I said, resting my head back.

It was silent for another few seconds before Camille spoke up again. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Like, emotionally and everything?" she added.

I nodded, looking down at my knees. "I guess. It's just… ever since last month, when Big Time Rush came here and the whole Kendall thing happened, I've kind of been thinking about him constantly, and that's the one thing that really frustrates me," I told her. The brunette nodded in understanding.

Not a second later, my phone vibrated on the nightstand, signaling a text. I grabbed it and saw Kendall's name flash across the front. "Speak of the devil," I said, opening the message.

_Back home now :) Skype?  
__-K_

Oh yeah, I forgot we were Skyping later. "Yay, he's home," I said excitedly, going to my computer on the desk in the room. It already had the Skype homepage up, I just hadn't logged in yet. How did I forget about that exactly?

"Alright, I'm gonna go take a shower while you make out with your computer screen," she smirked, grabbing her pink shower caddie.

"Hey!" I laughed, grabbing something randomly off the desk and throwing it at her head. Don't worry, it wasn't a hard object. At least I hope it wasn't… She dodged it regardless and laughed at me.

"See ya," she chuckled, walking out of the dorm.

A few moments later, I was logged onto Skype, and Kendall's face soon appeared on my computer screen. "Hey," he greeted happily, taking the black beanie he was wearing off his head. Grrr.

"Hey," I said in the same happy tone. "Put your beanie back on," I ordered in a playful tone.

"Make me," he retaliated. I laughed lightly and pulled my knees up to my chest, hugging them with one of my arms. "I see you're wearing that hoodie again," he said, a smile beaming across his chiseled features.

I smiled back. "As always," I responded. Today I wore a pair of faded skinny jeans and scoop neck off-white t-shirt. And, as I almost always did lately, I had Kendall's black zip-up hoodie wrapped securely around me. It still smelled the same it did as he first put it on me a month ago, no matter how many times I washed it, and I loved it more and more every time I put it on. I had no shoes on my feet currently, showing off the fresh, new blue nail polish on my toes to, well, myself, since no one else was here. And Kendall couldn't see my feet, so I wasn't trying to impress him really with that. My makeup was light, and my hair is in its natural waves. "And this," I said, pulling on the necklace I had on me daily, whether actually around my neck or in my jeans pocket. It was a few pieces of leftover black string from the bracelets, with the red and green guitar picks Kendall gave me during the concerts I attended.

He laughed a little. "I love that, I really do," he responded. I smiled and brought my hand down. He looked intently at his computer screen for a second or two before speaking again. "I still say I look sexier in it then you do," he said with a smirk.

I chuckled. "Yeah, okay. Whatever you say, Boyfriend," I told him. We didn't really have pet names or special nicknames or anything like that for each other. So, for a while, I started calling him Boyfriend, and he played along and called me Girlfriend, or Girly, mostly because he knows I hate the latter. His new favorite is JoJo. Don't ask.

"You know I'm right, JoJo," he responded. See what I mean? We're working on the names thing, I promise.

We continued talking for another few minutes, talking about anything. Our day, our work, my schooling, his recording, etcetera. We even started another round of Twenty Questions, one of our favorite games. The questions would be either serious or really random, and we loved it.

After a string of five or six stupid questions from Kendall's mouth, his face turned serious as he went to change the subject. "Alright, ready for a somewhat serious one?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No really," I answered, smiling.

"Ah, you're smiling, you want to answer it," he teased.

"No I don't!" I retorted.

"Yeah you do," he fought back.

"No I don't. I like it when you ask stupid questions about Disney characters and whatnot," I answered, referring to his last question. He wanted my opinion on why Goofy stands up and Pluto was on all fours, and why Donald Duck wears a towel when he's done with his shower, when he never wears pants. So Disney isn't so kid-friendly after all!

"C'mon, please?" he pleaded, his boyish grin plastered on his face. "I'll answer it, too," he added.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Like we do for every other question?" I asked, smirking.

He chuckled. "Alright, enough with your mouth," he responded. I'll take that as a yes?

I sighed, jokingly pondering the thought for a short moment. "Alright," I answered.

He nodded, too. "Alright," he repeated with a nervous chuckle. "Like I said, it's not that a serious question, but I think it'd be fun to know the answer," he told me.

"I'm scared," I responded, giggling at the end.

"Shush, it's my turn to talk," he said in his usual, lighthearted stern voice.

I nodded, sighing lightly. "Fine."

"Okay, so, we're both… not virgins anymore, right?"

I smirked. "Last I checked," I answered, hiding the worry that was building up inside me. Where was this going?

"Okay, so…" he paused briefly, then added smirking, "and I'm being serious here."

"I wouldn't expect you not to be," I said.

He nodded, still smiling. "Alright, so, what was the worst sex you ever had?" he asked.

Really, did he have to go there? Especially after everything already plaguing my mind lately.

"Um…" I chuckled nervously, tucking some hair behind my ear nervously.

His mood quickly switched from playful to concerned, sensing my uneasiness. "Did I pinch a nerve, or something?" Kendall asked.

I looked up and nodded. "My virginity is… kind of a touchy topic for me," I told him briefly.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "You're not a prostitute or anything behind my back, are you?" he joked lightly.

I chuckled. "No, don't worry, I'm not a prostitute," I reassured him. "It's just…" I paused as I thought of a good, vague way to word it. "Sex caused a lot of drama for me in high school," I replied.

"And this drama being…?" he asked.

"It just… really changed things between me and my boyfriend," I partially lied. "And my best guy friend…" I added sheepishly, remembering the only other guy I probably, most likely slept with.

His expression picked up. "Best guy friend?" he asked, amused.

"Don't laugh," I warned. "And this does qualify as the worst," I partially lied again. It was bad, but not as bad as, uh… yeah. "It was homecoming weekend, there was a party at his house, we were drunk, and I don't even remember it," I explained. "All I remember is waking up in his bed naked, so you can kind of guess from there," I finished.

"That's cute, I love it," he laughed lightly.

"It's not funny," I exclaimed, laughing a little myself.

He sobered up. "Don't worry, my story's even worse," Kendall reassured.

Now it was my turn to have my mood picked up. "Ooh, tell me," I ordered eagerly.

We continued talking on Skype for another hour or so. His story was worse, actually. I'm still kind of shocked he confided in me about it, since it was his first time. Every cliché in the book happened to him, from failing to, erm, enter properly, to losing it too early. Camille came in after her shower, way after we were done with the sex talk, and barged in on our conversation for a bit, but then left to go to Natalie's room until I texted her and told her Kendall and I were done. The whole talk with him – everything from the nicknames and flirtatious, witty banter, to the serious moments we had – made me feel a hundred times better than I had all day. With him, I forgot all about Jett, save for that minute or two when we talked about our previous sex lives. I loved that he made me feel that way.

Now if only he would come up here and stay with me throughout Jett's stay.

* * *

**Is the ending okay? I wanted Jo to sorta, somewhat open up to Kendall about her past, but not entirely, you know? And i figured this would be the best way without it turning all serious-y again. So, good?**

**Ooh, and who else is watching Glee? "I go 'Hell to the no-no, no-no, no-no!" Haha, that's gonna be stuckin my head all night! And Puck's "Big Ass" song? :D Luv it!**

**Yeah, anyways, review as always. PEACE!  
-Megs**


	18. Chapter 17

**Hallelujah! This is _finally_ up!**

**Omigosh, you guys have nooo idea how long this took me to write. First off, i had a bunch of stuff going on at school, between Peer Leadership and Yearbook and Cross-Age and Enviro Club, it all just- ugh! You know? And you know what, I did write and actually finish this a few days ago. HOWEVER, I re-read it today in hopes of posting it, and i hated it! So, i spent probably ten hours on the computer for the second time since i started this story, rewrote the chapter, and am extremely pleased with it :) For now, I may end up hating it a couple of days from now, lol. But I rlly hope you like it anyways.**

**Now, i guarantee in the beginning part, you'll be confused, but if you continue reading the chapter, and you see how the next one or two chapters that follow this, you will see where I'm going with all of this. And you'll like it. I hope. Well, you should, since Kendall and Jo are reunited again! :D Yayyy! Oh, and, i have an official warning down below, but I just want to point out this chapter does deal with racy topics, and I won't feel offended if you want to skip everything if you're uncomfortable.**

**Okay, so i'll give you guys a mini preview of surfergal23's "Bittersweet" and let you guys go to read the new chapter. Here it is!**

"Joanna Knight was a friend, a sister, a daughter, a wife and a mother," the priest spoke gently over the brisk Minnesota wind that shook my black overcoat sending chills up and down my spine. It was so cold, I was surprised it wasn't snowing. Jo always loved the snow.

My heavy green eyes stayed set on the black casket, strewn with flowers of all kinds in front of me, as about twenty of Jo and me's closest friends and family stood on the cold, dead, Minnesota grass at her gravesite.

My mother stood into me, her shaking hand wrapped around my torso, the other holding Taylor tightly, as I looked down, barely breathing. She kissed my shoulder, her voice weak and whispered.

"Everything's gonna be alright, baby."

Too bad I couldn't believe her.

How was I burying my wife? How was this happening? My daughter was barely a week old. How was I going to do this alone?

I couldn't hear anything else that the priest said, my own thoughts taking over my mind. I wasn't sobbing, or crying, my heart beating slowly and painfully upsettingly, as if it knew. In that moment, all I could think of was reaching out my hand to touch Jo's, and how she could comfort me.

But she couldn't.

I bit my lower lip, my green eyes starting to fill with tears as the priest spoke softly about Jo's life, from her childhood to marrying me. How beautiful of a life she had, and how it was cut short.

Because of me.

**You like? Go and review that once you're done with this new chapter! Apologies for the rather long delay, but it's totally worth it. I know i've said this about ten times now, but you'll really love this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: **Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. All songs I mention belong to their rightful owners. All title rights go to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

**WARNING: This chapter hints at/deals with rape-related topics (However you wanna look at it). If you're uncomfortable, feel free to skip.**

* * *

I laid in my bed about a week later, feeling too lazy (and scared) to do anything. Camille was out for the night, going out with one of her guy friends in the theater program. They had been doing this friends-with-benefits type of thing for weeks now – maybe even months, and finally decided to try dating each other. She tried to get out of it, thinking it'd be best to stay back with me after what happened recently (even though I'd been an annoying mental case since Sunday), but I urged her to go out and have fun with her theater friend. She deserved it.

As for me, well, as I said, I have been a mental case all week. No joke. I've had nightmares, woken up crying at two in the morning, hardly left my dorm unless it was for class or work, and probably had twenty run-ins with people I thought were Jett. I was too paranoid to even maintain a social life outside of the dorm, even when I was told a few times that Jett left for North Carolina.

I heard my cell phone vibrate and buzz against the surface of the nightstand separating mine and Camille's beds. I groaned, turning to my side and answered the call, not bothering to check the caller ID. "What?" I answered, sighing.

"Well, someone's in a cheerful mood today," Kendall's voice chimed over the phone.

I smiled. I couldn't be mad at him. "Hi, Kendall," I greeted, using a sarcastic-sounding cheerful tone.

"Hey, Jo," he chuckled at my wit. "You feeling any better?" he asked.

"A little," I answered truthfully. "Well, better than I was on Sunday," I added.

"That's something," he responded.

I sighed a little. "I guess," I said, hugging one of my pillows to my chest and sniffled a little. I have basically been on the brink of crying, or have cried, almost every time I was alone in the dorm. Mostly because I was so paranoid, almost anything that made me think of Jett set me off.

"You're crying," he stated the obvious.

"No I'm not," I fought back, weakly, might I add.

"You're such a liar," Kendall replied.

"No, I'm not," I repeated.

I heard him chuckle on the other end. Hey, your girlfriend's hurt, it's not nice to laugh at her like that over the phone. "Whatever you say," he responded.

"Wow, you sound so trustworthy of me," I said in a playful tone.

"Ah, there's the sarcasm we all know and love," Kendall laughed lightly.

"Shut up," I told him.

The line was silent for a few seconds before I heard his voice again. "Hey, do you mind hanging on for a sec? I have another call coming in," he informed me.

I sighed sadly. I didn't want to get off with him just yet. "I guess…" I answered him.

"Don't worry, I'll send them off as soon as I pick up, alright?" he assured me. I smiled at his response, even though he couldn't see me. "You're more important to me right now than whoever's calling me," he added. Aw, how much better can he get? "I'll be back on in a minute," he reminded me.

I nodded, again not caring if he could see me or not. "Alright," I responded.

"Alright," Kendall said, and I was put on hold a second later. In the meantime, I sat up on my bed and rested against the wooden headboard behind me. I clutched the phone tighter to my ear, almost as if it would make him come back on in the next few milliseconds, even though I knew that wouldn't be the case.

A few seconds later, there was a rather loud knock heard at the door. My head snapped up and my whole body tensed in an instant. No. No, this couldn't be happening, not again. Am I dreaming again? Oh God, please tell me I am. I felt tears form in my eyes before I heard a shifting motion on the other end, and Kendall's voice rang through the speaker.

"I'm back, told you I'd be quick," he chimed happily.

I gulped before speaking. "Uh-huh," I said, not really thinking about his words as I ran a hand through my hair in a stressful, fearful motion.

I could imagine Kendall's whole facial expression change. "What's the matter?" he asked concernedly.

"N-nothing," I stuttered. Yeah, that's reassuring.

"Jo," he said sternly.

"Someone just knocked on the door," I blurted out, trying to hide the fear in my voice.

"Yeah, and…?" he asked, as if it was one of the most outrageous things he had ever heard.

"Kendall," I mumbled with a whine, finally releasing the hold on my hair and letting it fall around my face again. He caught on, letting an 'oh' sound escape his lips. "I'm freaking out right now!" I said, keeping myself from breaking down with him on the phone. Again. I've done it a few times over the past week, and felt even more embarrassed every time it happened. "I mean, Jett said he'd come back and get me the other night. Of course, he was drunk when he said it, but-"

"Jo!" he exclaimed with a light chuckle. Hey, what did I say before about laughing at your emotionally scarred girlfriend? Well, maybe I'm not at that point, but I'm damn close to it! "It's okay. Didn't your friends say he went back to North Carolina?" he asked me.

I sniffled. "Y-yeah…" I answered, my tone unsure as I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arm around them.

"Yeah, so he's probably not there," he told me.

I sighed. "I don't know, Kendall…" I trailed off, my tone fearful.

"Just go and answer the door," Kendall said reassuringly over the phone while I tightened my grip around my legs, hugging them even closer to my chest nervously. "I'm sure you're freaking yourself out more than you need to," he added.

I sniffled again. "How do you know?" I asked, my voice still wavering as I looked down and played with a loose thread on my comforter.

"Just trust me," he said, his tone soft and comforting. "Go, see what the person wants, and give me a call back as soon as they leave, okay?" he suggested.

"Alright," I said, sighing nervously.

"I'll talk to you soon, okay?" he questioned, his tone a little more upbeat. I guess to try and make me feel better?

I let my lips stretch into a small smile. "Alright, I'll talk to you soon," I repeated his words, more to reassure myself then him. We said our goodbyes and hung up as I let go of my knees and slowly slid off of my bed, stepping towards the door. I breathed a nervous breath once again as I wrapped my hand around the silver door handle and pushed it down, swinging the door open.

This was complete déjà vu, I swear. Only this time, it wasn't who I thought it was on the other side of the door.

I should have known.

"Kendall?" I questioned, still not believing it myself. But there he was, standing right front of me, wearing a black t-shirt and jeans with gray Vans on his feet. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, and his hair was in its adorable shaggy cut, no beanie on his head. He smiled when I said his name, and shrugged his shoulders smugly.

"In the flesh," he answered me.

"Oh my God," I laughed lightly and sniffled, my hand coming up to cover my mouth. I felt like I was on the verge of tears again, but honestly did not care at the moment. I was seeing my boyfriend again, after, what was it, five weeks now? Oh hell, why am I thinking about that _now_, of all times?

He smiled again. "Come here, you," he said, opening his arms as I stepped forward to hug him.

"Oh my God," I said again, a small sob escaping from my throat. His strong arms wrapped themselves around my waist tightly as I felt him press a kiss to my temple. I felt a few tears make their escape for the umpteenth time that week and involuntarily sobbed softly and quietly into his shoulder, trying not to freak him or any passerbyers (is that even a word?) on our floor. I heard Kendall's comforting voice attempt to shush me as one of his hands rubbed soothing circles through my white t-shirt onto my back. He pulled away for a moment, pressing his lips to my forehead and gently kissed it. I felt a slight sting from the stubble on his chin pressing into my skin, but I didn't care. I was much too happy and relieved to see him. Especially after everything that had happened to me recently.

He pulled away a few seconds later before locking his eyes with me. My gaze shifted to his shirt, where I saw a wet stain on his shoulder that was, of course, my doing. "Oh God, your shirt," I muttered, running my fingers across the tearstain as if I could brush it away, but that obviously didn't help.

"It's okay, don't worry about it," he said, chuckling lightly at my attempt to take it out.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to breakdown like that," I apologized quickly, earning a smile and another soft chuckle to elicit out of Kendall. "I've been such an emotional and mental case all week, and-"

"Hey, stop," Kendall cut me off, still smiling a little. "Don't apologize for anything," he told me, taking my hand away from his shoulder and lacing his fingers with my own. "You're the one we should be worrying about," he added.

I looked down shyly, only to have him tilt my head back up a second later with his free hand. "Hey, look at me," he urged comfortingly, letting go of my hand only to cup my face and wipe a tear away from my cheekbone. "You have every right to feel the way you do," he said. Wait, did he… Oh who am I kidding – of course he knew! I can see it in his eyes. Who told him? I'll fucking kill them, I swear.

I nodded at his words, pushing the thought to the back of my head. Yeah, I wanted to know how he knew what happened at the cast party on Sunday, but didn't care too much at that moment. I'll probably ask him in a minute or so, but not now. I just want to stand here with Kendall, his arms wrapped around me securely, and feel safe in someone's presence for once. At least there was one guy out there that'd take care of me when I needed it.

I sniffled again. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you here," I told him honestly, moving my hands up and down his exposed, curled biceps, my brown eyes refusing to leave his green ones.

Kendall smiled and sighed in relief. "Good, I was so afraid you'd hate me for surprising you like this," he joked with his signature, smug grin dimpling his face.

"Yeah, I'm so relieved that I made _you_ feel better when I'm the one that's crying," I responded with a playful tone, laughing lightly towards the end.

His lips stretched into a smile again as he chuckled softly and leaned in, pressing a gentle, chaste kiss on my lips before speaking again. "You're amazing, you know that?" he asked me, pushing a few more fallen, blonde strands behind my ear.

I looked down, feeling myself blush. Here I was, standing in front of him with sweats on and no makeup, on the verge of crying my eyes out, and he was telling me that I was, and I quote, amazing? Me, of all people. He must have been dropped on his head a few times when he was little, that'd explain it. "Stop," I said before feeling his finger on my chin again, lifting my head to meet his soft gaze once more.

"No, you are," he said, bringing his arms down to intertwine his hands with mine.

"You're making me want to cry again," I told him, blinking back tears that I didn't realize were welling up in my eyes and brushed my hand across my face in case any managed to escape.

"At least it's for a good reason," he responded with a cheeky grin. I giggled and reached up to kiss him again. I released my hands from his grip and snaked my arms around his neck as one of his wrapped around my own. His hand weaved its way into my hair as the other rested on the small of my back, and his fingers softly stroked the sliver of skin that peaked out under my shirt. I smiled against his lips at his touch, feeling a shiver travel up my spine as he continued to softly rub my back.

Everything I had felt throughout the last week slowly melted away as Kendall continued kissing me. It was soft and tender on his part, making me smile wider at his cautious movements. I forgot about Jett, the cast party… everything that plagued my mind this week. Kendall knew what happened; it was obvious in his movements and words. And the fact that he still cared about me the way he did made me happier than… actually, I don't think I remember ever feeling this happy in a _long_ while. I knew right then and there that I was in love with Kendall Knight.

And no one, not even Jett Stetson, could ruin that for me.

* * *

_Five days earlier…_

"Do you know how hard it is to keep a relationship with someone who lives a state away?" Michelle asked into her cell phone Sunday afternoon.

I smirked, continuing to search mine and Camille's closet for a top to wear later tonight. "I can imagine…" I said, hoping she wouldn't catch onto my tone. She should try dating someone who lives all the way across the fucking country. Yeah, then we'll talk. Michelle was at UNC Charlotte, majoring in physical therapy (like Casey!) while her boyfriend of two years (the same one from Junior Prom) was studying psychology at South Carolina State.

"I love Damien and all, I really do, don't get me wrong," she started to ramble. "But… seriously! Like, since the second semester started, we barely see each other anymore. I have classes when he doesn't, he has classes when I don't, we're busy all the time! And do you know how many weekends he came up to see me in the past three months? Two! Two, and the last time was barely a month ago. Plus, we barely talk on the phone anymore-"

"M, I get it!" I interrupted her, trying to keep from laughing at her. "Have you tried calling him lately and told him this?" I asked, pulling out a tan colored tank top with a black design on it.

I heard her sigh on the other end of the receiver. "No," she answered. "I've tried, but every time I call him, I get his voicemail. And when he calls me, I'm too busy to pick up the phone," she went on to explain.

"Well, break is next week for you guys, right?" I asked her, putting the tank top back in the closet.

"Yeah," she answered.

"And he told me on Facebook that his starts around the time mine does," I told her.

"So?" she asked.

I smirked. "_So_, why don't you go down and visit him?" I suggested.

She scoffed. "Do you know my boss? He rarely lets any of us have time off," Michelle complained. Oh yeah, him. He _was_ mean. Not just at the restaurant where Michelle worked, but in general. I'd know, I babysat his kids once. His wife was super nice and friendly, but he… he was this decade's Red Foreman. That's mean.

I listened to her complaints and rambles for a few more minutes, continuing to search the closet while I gave her my advice and suggestions. But we were soon interrupted when there was a knock at my door. Huh, that's weird. No one knocks here. People just barge in and out of people's dorms. We're so respectful of one another's privacy, aren't we?

"Ugh, M, I gotta go," I said, setting another shirt in the closet. "Promise me you won't say something you'll regret to Damien when you see him," I told her. What? The two made a cute couple. And Damien was one of my good friends now. The last thing I'd want is to see them break up over something stupid.

She laughed over the receiver. "I won't, don't worry," she replied. "Call me later this week, and please tell me about this new guy you're dating next time!" she begged. I laughed. I changed my Facebook status to 'In A Relationship' recently, but never said who I was with. Kendall and the guys had their own private Facebook accounts to keep in touch with their own friends back home in Minnesota, and I was friends with each of them on the site. Even then, I never linked myself to Kendall's profile. Actually, lately, I barely spent my free time on Facebook. Twitter is where it's at, bitches! I have tweeted back and forth with all four BTR boys on occasion, but not a certain one in particular. None of my friends were on Twitter, so no one back home knew that I personally knew one of the hottest bands in the country. Yet, at least.

"We'll see," I responded. "I'll call you in a few days, how's that?" I asked her.

"Sounds good, talk to you then," she said cheerfully. "Bye!"

"Bye," I chuckled lightly as we hung up. Just as I was stuffing my phone back into my jeans pocket, another hard knock came at the door. Well, aren't we a little impatient today?

I walked over to the door and pushed down on the door handle, pulling the door open.

Maybe I should have just ignored it.

There stood Jett, wearing an American Eagle t-shirt and jeans, his red and white varsity jacket on over his back. Again, why the fuck was he still wearing that?

"Go away," I muttered, going to close the door. But of course, Jett stopped me.

"No," he said, holding his arm up to push the door back open. His voice was stern, but I could tell he was trying to make it sound less intimidating. That wouldn't be possible. Nope.

"Go away," I repeated, my own tone sharper than before as I attempted to shut the door again. Damn, he's strong. Stronger than he was the last time I was with him.

"Jo, just let me in," he pleaded, succeeding in our battle of the door. …Nah, that's not as catchy as I thought it would be. But it concluded my suspicions on his strength. Either that or I grew weaker. "I really wanna talk to you," he added.

I sighed, leaning against the doorframe with my arms cross in front of my chest. I wouldn't let him in, but I'm a nice person (for the most part), I'd give him a chance.

It wasn't until then that I got a good look at my ex, and saw how much he changed in the last year or so. His chest and shoulders were definitely broader and looked stronger, he had lost a tad amount of weight in his face, his hair looked darker and slightly shaggier, and he even had a slight stubble surrounding his jaw line and chin, which was weird, since he usually liked to keep a clean-shaven face, especially in high school. But nonetheless, it was still the same old Jett I fell in love with at sixteen.

"What do you want Jett?" I asked, my tone sounding impatient.

"We need to talk about the other day," he stated. Um… okay? I don't get what was so important about what happened at the diner on Friday, but okay. We'll talk.

"Yeah, and…?" I asked, allowing him to fill in the blanks.

He smirked. "Still as impatient as ever, I can tell," he wondered.

I rolled my eyes. "Look, Jett, I really don't have time, so if you don't get to your point right now-"

"Relax, I'm getting there," he said with a smirk, holding one of his hands up. I sighed again and nodded, allowing him to continue. "I've been with a few other girls since we broke up," he started. Oh, I'm _so_ loving where this is going. "And… I'll admit, I did sleep with them," he continued embarrassingly, bringing his hand up to rub the nape of his neck. Hey, that's Kendall's nervous gesture, not yours! "But… none of them have compared to you," he ended.

I held back a laugh. "So, you're saying you want me back for the sex?" I questioned.

"No," he answered quickly. "No, no, no, definitely not that. I mean, don't get me wrong, the sex was good – amazing even… when I was sober, at least," he said. I looked down to the floor and nodded. "But, none of the girls I dated were, well, you," he went on. I looked back up at him, staring into his hazel eyes. What?

"W-what?" I stammered.

He smiled again. "You were my first love, Jo," he said, stepping closer. I felt my body tense up at our closer proximity. "You're smart, you're funny, you're kind… you have a wit like no other girl I've met," he listed off. Okay, I'll admit, I like that last part. I ducked my head again to hide the large smirk that formed on my face. "And you're so beautiful, Jo. Both on the inside and out," he concluded, saying the same words he said to me right after our first time.

I shook my head and looked into his eyes again. "Jett, stop," I warned him. But did he listen, nooooo.

"You know, I haven't had a drink since that last party…" he trailed off, a small smile forming on his thin lips. Ha! Highly unlikely. The party he's talking about happened on Fourth of July weekend, just after the school year ended. He's a freshmen now at Duke University on a full athletic scholarship. He was bound to have gotten drunk at least once while he was there.

"Stop," I repeated, this time a little louder and more stern, trying to maintain a firm stance.

His expression changed to hurt. No, that's not good. "Why should I?" he asked, bringing a hand up to brush a strand of hair away from my face.

"Because, I'm dating someone," I told him. "I can't date you even if I wanted to," I said.

His face lit up a bit. "So, you're saying that if this other guy wasn't in the picture…" he trailed off again, stepping even closer to me this time.

"No!" I exclaimed angrily, wanting to take back my earlier words. "No, not now, not ever! Don't you remember what you did to me, oh I don't know, _five_ fucking _times_ junior year?" I asked him, on the very edge of shouting.

I felt his finger press against my lips, shutting me up as he brought his face closer to me. "Shhh! Do you want people to know?" he asked me, whispering harshly.

I slapped his hand away from my face. "Oh relax, no one around here knows you. They don't care about what you did or didn't do," I assured him in a dark tone that even scared me a little bit. And I thought Jett was supposed to be the intimidating one here.

He stepped back, his body visibly relaxing. "Look, Jo, I really, truly, am sorry. For everything," he apologized.

"Huh, a little late in the making, aren't we?" I chuckled sarcastically.

He sighed deeply, trying to level his temper before speaking again. "Look," Jett started again, "the least I wanted to do was try to make amends with you. Is there any way I can do that?" he asked with a pleading expression.

If it was anyone else, I would have broken down completely. However, I thankfully maintained my ground and stepped back. "No," I replied, shaking my head as I brought a hand back up to the wooden door.

"Jo, please…?" he pleaded again.

"No, Jett. I can't do this," I answered, my voice starting to shake a little from the nerves that had been building up in my stomach. "I'm in a happy place in my life again, and I've been like this for over a year now. You… you'll just take that away from me," I said, taking one last look at him. His bottom lip was quivering and his posture relaxed in defeat. I felt terrible hurting his feelings like that, but he deserved it, didn't he? "Whether you intend to or not," I concluded before closing the door completely, no fight this time from him.

I sighed deeply as I turned around and leaned against it. I did it, I stood up to Jett once again. I felt a rush of adrenaline pump through my veins and my nerves faded. You know that feeling when you've conquered your biggest, lifelong fear? Like, if you're afraid of heights, but you go on an airplane anyway, and you feel a sense of thrill run through your body. That was exactly how I was feeling right now. And it was the most exciting, exhilarating feeling in the world.

* * *

"Come on Jo, have another drink," Will urged me later that night, plopping down on the plush leather couch next to me. We were sitting on a couch at one of the cast members' family's beach house, just a twenty minute drive from campus. It was a descent-sized house, containing three bedrooms and three bathrooms, a descent sized kitchen where everyone was getting their drinks, and a huge living room, with a surround sound stereo system of some kind.

"I'm tipsy enough as it is," I replied, but took the clear plastic cup from his hands anyway. "One more beer, and I'll be well over the edge," I giggled, taking a small sip of the beer he gave me. It was light, and didn't have much of an alcoholic taste at first. But a few glasses of it made me giddier than I was when I first came here.

"So what? You deserve it for what you said to that Jett kid tonight!" he exclaimed, sitting back as he wrapped his arm around Amber, who sat on his other side. As soon as Camille returned back to our dorm room later that day, I told her everything that went down earlier, and then she proceeded to tell everyone in our little group.

I smirked. "To horrible ex-boyfriends," I cheered sarcastically before taking another sip of the beer.

I had to admit, this party was going pretty well. I didn't think it'd be that much fun, especially considering my past experiences at high school parties, but it was a blast. I had a few drinks, obviously, danced with my friends, got Camille to dance with her friends-with-benefits cast member, and was lined up to play a round of beer pong when the table opened up again. Plus, I had to admit, I looked (and felt) great.

I ended up choosing a flowy white tank top that had an asymmetrical cut to the hem, and had silver sequined stripes that crossed the fabric horizontally. I wore a pair of black jean leggings with it, and borrowed a pair of Camille's black wedged sandals. My makeup was a little more dramatic than usual, but still light and natural, and my hair was down and curled softly. The only jewelry I had on was a silver rhinestone bracelet on my right wrist, and the guitar pick string necklace I made a few weeks ago.

So here we were, sitting on the couch in the living room. Random college students were dancing around us to one of Lady Gaga's songs, and were all at least partially intoxicated. "Oh, I love this song!" I heard Amber exclaimed, jumping off of the couch and turning to grab Will's hands. "Come on, Lover-boy, dance with me!" she chimed excitedly, her voice oh so slightly slurred from the alcohol in her system.

"'Lover-boy?'" I chuckled at Will when he gave me a pleading, please-don't-make-me-go look.

"Don't ask," he sighed, being yanked once again by his blonde-haired girlfriend, who wore a tight pink mini dress, her hair curled similarly to mine and soft makeup applied to her face. I could tell that Will really wasn't in the dancing mood, but couldn't resist how beautiful his girlfriend looked, and gave in to dance with her anyway.

I heard Camille laugh from next to me. Was she here the whole time? Wow, that's bad if I can't remember. How much did I drink again? "God, they're so cute together," she laughed, obviously intoxicated from the booze at this party.

I turned back and looked at the couple. Will was pulling Amber closer to her, hands placed firmly at her sides as one of her hands snaked its way around his shoulder and rested on the back of his neck, tapping his nose lightly with her free hand. Both of them giggled lightly and continued to sway their bodies together as the song started concluding. "Yeah, they are," I agreed, taking one last gulp of the beer in my cup. Gone already?

The song changed a few mere seconds later to "Hey Daddy" by Usher. Sweet, I loved this song! Camille and I looked at each other with a knowing, gleeful look and laughed as we got up and joined the young adults in the center of the room. We started dancing with each other, noticing Natalie with a couple of girls from the stage crew, and joined them as the song continued.

As the bridge started to play and Plies' voice started ringing through the speakers, I announced that I was going to run into the kitchen for a bit. They let me go and continued to dance as I made my way through the crowded room. I reached the kitchen a moment later. There was a keg sitting in the middle of the room, as well as a bunch of clear plastic cups littering the floor and marble countertop. A few other people were standing around the room talking with one another – some I recognized from school, some I didn't. Thankfully, beer wasn't the only drink available in here. There were coolers open with sodas, water, and other non-alcoholic drinks, but were obviously being ignored. I went to one and grabbed a bottle of water, popping the cap open and taking a long swig of it. My plan was to ignore the beer for now if I wanted to be even slightly aware of my surroundings tomorrow in class and at work. Tomorrow was Monday, after all.

Just as I finished sipping at the bottle, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around, thinking it was one of Camille and Natalie's friends who wanted to talk to me or something. But no, it was worse. Much worse.

"Jett?"

* * *

**Well, what do you think? Positive feedback is always welcome, review!**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	19. Chapter 18

**Wow, only about 2900 words. But it's so intense compared to anything else i wrote. So intense, I'm changing the rating on this story to M next chapter in fear of getting reported or something on here. I've been meaning to do that for a while, but i figured i'd let you guys know ahead of time so you can change your search settings if need be. And i couldn't remember if i let you in the last update or not, but yeah, this is the _official_ head's up.**

**So like i said, this is really intense. And that's all you'll get out of me.**

**"Bittersweet" snippet? :D**

It had been a week and a half since Jo's death, and Kendall wasn't doing well at all. Carlos and James were in two for a few more days, and I felt a bit better that Mrs. Knight was staying at the house with Kendall until he could get things organized, and get his head on straight. I had noticed him lately, that he hadn't even had any connection with his daughter lately. It worried me. I knew he was going through a tough time, but I was afraid it was just going to get worse with Mrs. Knight there.

How could a father just ignore their daughter?

It was 10:45 when I walked in from work. My bones ached, my skin felt grimy, and I could barely keep my eyes open. I was mad too, since the Wild were playing the Oilers tonight, and I had wanted to watch it. The game was probably near over by now. I had performed two surgeries tonight, and nearly lost one of them on the operating table. That was something I had never experienced as a doctor, and I was thankful that I didn't experience it tonight. But coming home, I definitely wasn't in the best mood.

I walked through the red door of my and Camille's white house, with a beautiful, now frosted garden gracing the front lawn, and closed it behind me a bit angrily. I had almost forgotten how late it was. I heard a small sigh from the living room, as I hung my coat up, ran my fingers through my hair and popped my shoes off.

I took a few steps down the foyer and made a right into the living room where I saw Camille and Devin snuggled up on the couch, Devin fast asleep as Camille looked she was going to doze off as well. Tears streaked her face, as an open photo album of her and Jo lay on the couch next to her. I sighed deeply as she stirred even more, obviously sensing my presence. I leaned down to her and kissed her forehead gently, as her beautiful, brown eyes sprung open.

"What—what time is it?" she asked raspily, looking to her left and seeing Devin fast asleep, his lips pursed peacefully, his chest rising and falling.

"A quarter to eleven," I said gently, touching her arm. Camille sighed, and with her free hand, wiped the tears from her cheeks, looking over at the album of all the pictures of her and Jo. She was turned to a page from our wedding day.

I arched my neck to look at the picture and saw Camille's beautiful, perfectly made up face, her brown curls cascading down her face, her white veil and beautiful strapless gown looking perfectly on her. It was a picture from the waist up of her and Jo. Jo looked beautiful as well, in the light pink chiffon bridesmaid dresses Camille had picked out. Her blonde locks flew down her back, a pink flower in her hair as she hugged my beautiful wife to her, looking like the two poster best friends in the world. They were both so happy. They both reveled in each other's joy all the time. And now, that joy was lost.

"I miss her so much," Camille said, her eyes watering again, as I closed to album abruptly. I didn't want to see her cry anymore. I didn't want her to be hurt anymore.

**The story's amazing! Don't believe me? Go check it out and read it for yourself :D Support my FanFiction bestie surfergal23 and read it :)**

**Disclaimer: **Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. All songs I mention belong to their rightful owners. All title rights go to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

**WARNING: As said above, this chapter is **_**DEFINITELY**_** more intense than previous ones… especially towards the end. Skip if you're uncomfortable. I won't be offended. Hell if I were reading this, I'd even skip this chapter.**

* * *

Well… at least he's still not wearing that varsity jacket.

Scream at him, tell him to go away, something! "W-What? H-How? Why?" I stumbled. Yeah, that'll show him, not.

Jett's lips pulled into a smirk. "Relax, my friends and I are renting out the house a few doors down for the week, and you know how Trevor can never resist a good party," he started to explain, chuckling lightly as he finished his statement. What was so funny about that exactly? "So, we kind of decided to crash the place and hang out for a bit. I had _no_ idea you were here," he told me before narrowing his eyes at me, scanning my body up and down. Gulp. "What are _you_ doing here? Parties were never really your scene."

"I-It's a cast party f-for the drama club at my school," I answered, still stumbling over my words occasionally. "M-My roommate was the lead in their last play, and she decided to bring me out here, so… here I am," I finished awkwardly.

Jett took another glance over my body again. Would he stop doing that? "Well, you look great," he complimented.

I smiled faintly. "Thanks," I said, and looked over him briefly. I figured he was still wearing the jeans he wore this morning back at the dorm, but had changed out of his t-shirt into a red polo, and had a black denim jacket on over it. "You look nice, too," I said politely.

A smile spread across his face. "Thanks," he said, looking at me the same way he did when we were younger. It was a look of lust, and even love. No, that's not good.

"Uh look, I have to get back to my friends, so…" I trailed off, pointing to the living room behind me with my free hand.

Jett nodded. "Yeah, go, that's fine," he responded. "I should probably go and make sure Trevor and the guys aren't drinking too much," he said, again ending with a chuckle. At least that was something to laugh at, though.

I smirked and shook my head slightly. One thing I remembered about Trevor and Stephen and the guys, they were so obnoxious and crazy when they were intoxicated. They were always invited to any high school party as free entertainment. But then would be kicked out later for trying to make out with every girl in the building.

I finally separated from Jett and went back into the living room, making myself disappear into the crowd as I went to join Camille and friends back on the dance floor. The only reason I agreed to come here was to de-stress and forget about his visit. But still, even as I continued dancing and hanging out with Camille's friends, I couldn't help but look over my shoulder every five seconds in search of Jett. Didn't I just say I was here to forget about him? Yup, my thought exactly.

* * *

"Yes! We did it, we won, we _wooooonnn_!" Camille chanted with a slur, hugging her friends-with-benefit guy after he tossed a ping pong ball into our last cup. I finally found out his name, by the way! Steve something. But that's better than before! Now I don't have to keep calling him friends-with-benefits guy.

My partner – what was his name again, Nate, Nick… oh well, it'll come to me eventually – chugged down the beer in the last, clear plastic cup on our side of the table as Camille's partner picked her up and twirled her around in victory. Almost like the end of the Halloween episode of _Poor Paul_, when Paul and Bonnie won the game of pong against Paul's roommates. Only Camille wasn't wearing a bumblebee costume, and her partner wasn't, and I quote, "a fucking banana."

Haha, that line gets me every time!

Whoa, am I giggling at that now? Yup, I'm definitely a _little_ tipsy right now. Focus, especially when you're still sober enough to even think clearly.

"Yeah, whoo-hoo…" I said sarcastically, though I doubt she heard me. She was wasted. Yippee, more fun for me tonight when I bring her home. I don't remember much of the game, except making terrible throws in Camille's direction, mindless trash talk, drinking, and maybe – just _maybe_ – a bet made between me and Camille. Wow, the room's spinning a little faster now. Maybe I should go sit on that couch over in the corner soon before anyone calls it and starts… you know.

"Hey, good game," I heard my partner say to me, extending his arm out for me to shake.

"Yeah, you two," I responded with a quick shake of his hand, and walked off in the direction where the rest of my friends were, which was thankfully by that empty couch. Amber and Will were completely drunk (or so I thought) and were sprawled out across the one couch we were on earlier, kissing each other hungrily. I'm surprised they hadn't sucked one another's faces off yet. Will was even starting to slip his hands under the pink flowy t-shirt she was wearing and- wait, he wasn't… _Groooooss_! I get it, you love each other, and there are other random people hooking up all around the room, but _come on_! Go upstairs and call a bedroom.

Thankfully, I had sobered up a _little_ bit since my run-in with Jett, but that completely changed after the game we just played. Honestly, one more drink, and I would be fully drunk. I know I said that before with Will, but that was only to get him to stop feeding me so many beers. Now, definitely another beer would push me over the edge. I don't think I've ever been fully drunk in my entire life, just tipsy, or intoxicated enough for me to still have a conscious mind and know what was going on. Thankfully. I quickly took the seat on the couch and sank into the cushions, observing my surroundings for a moment. The party definitely escalated in the last half hour or so, maybe forty-five minutes since I talked with Jett in the kitchen, I wasn't too sure. Music was still pumping through the speakers of whatever sound system the beach house had, people were well past drunk at this point, there were random hookups scattered around the first floor (and some have even continued to the rooms on the second floor), there was one girl who was trying to make out with every guy in the room, and I think I heard some people vomiting from not too far away. Again, _gross_! Even worse, I think I smelled people smoking crack outside on the deck overlooking the ocean, which was surprisingly calm tonight.

Maybe I should get out of here soon. Oh wait, there's just one problem – no one in our clique of friends is fuckin' sober! I knew playing pong and toasting my actions this morning were a suckish idea. Where's Jett? I'm really starting to get a few bad vibes here.

While I should have stayed put on the couch when I felt that way, I decided to go back in the kitchen for another bottle of water, thinking that would somewhat help my drunkenness.

Again, big mistake.

Jett was in there, I noticed. He was talking to a girl I recognized from the play, but never really pinpointed her name. She played the queen in the play, Hippo-something. But even more surprising, Jett seemed sober! Go figure. I could tell, even from this distance. Either that, or his body didn't show how drunk/tipsy he was. From what I was hearing him say, his tone was definitely not slurred, and he didn't have a glazed look over his eyes that would give away his intoxication. He did have a red plastic cup in his hand, though, so I didn't think it would last long.

I quickly ushered my way into the kitchen and over to the cooler, grabbing my second bottle of water, and was just making my way out when he took notice of me.

"Jo, hey!" I heard Jett's voice call over to me.

So close.

I sighed and turned around, stepping cautiously toward him. At least I wouldn't be alone with him this time. "Hi," I greeted politely, feeling a headache start to come on right now. That's not good. It's not bad, but not great either. Wait, where am I going with this?

"Hey, how's the nightlife treating you?" he asked excitedly, swirling his cup as he spoke before bringing it to his lips and downing its contents. If I listened super, super closely, I could hear a slur in his voice, but it was still very subtle. Again, not good.

"Uh, good?" I answered, ending it more like a question.

He nodded. "Fantastic!" Jett exclaimed. Um, okay? "Hey, have you met _Rachaeeelll_ yet?" he asked, wrapping an arm around the fair-skinned girl, chuckling on the girl's name with an oh so slight slur. Tipsy, much?

I shrugged my shoulders. "Once or twice," I answered nonchalantly, turning towards Rachael. She was nice when I had the chance to talk to her. She had curly red-brown hair that she normally wore as a perm, but tonight was worn down and curled a little bit. She had smokey brown eye shadow sweeped across her eyelids, enhancing the striking amber color in her irises. Any guy she met turned to putty under her gaze. Even Will. That was a funny day, especially with Amber still in the room. I noticed Rachael was wearing a black tank top with a rather low v-neck, exposing more cleavage than usual, especially with her full chest. No wonder Jett was taking the time to talk to her.

Rachael nodded. "Long time, no see," she agreed. I guess I'll take that as a greeting. She turned to look at Jett for a second. "So, this guy tells me that you two dated for a while," she said, turning to look at me as she spoke.

"For a while," I answered with another uncomfortable shrug of my shoulders. Can I leave yet?

I guess Rachael sensed the tension between us. "Yeah, I think I'll leave you guys alone for a sec," she said, picking up a red cup that sat beside her on the countertop. She planted a chaste kiss on Jett's cheek and whispered something in his ear I couldn't quite comprehend, and then made her way out of the kitchen through the back doorway that lead to the deck. Lovely, just what I fucking needed.

Jett turned back to face me, a happy expression gracing his facial features. "You look good tonight," he said.

I chuckled lightly. "I think you already said that," I told him. "But thank you, again."

He nodded in response and glanced out into the living room. I could hear that the song changed, but couldn't make it out over the other loud noises in the kitchen. Jett turned back and looked me in the eye once again. "Hey, you wanna go out and dance?" he asked, cocking his head towards the living room. My heart started thudding in my chest, and I could feel a light layer of sweat gather on my palms. This won't turn out good. Jett sensed my uneasiness instantly. "Come on, it's just one dance, for old time's sake," he continued to urge me. He did seem sober, and did seem sorry for everything that happened two years ago. One dance, what could that hurt, right?

"S-Sure," I answered, my tone uneasy but a warm smile on my face. "Why not?" I asked rhetorically.

Jett smiled and extended a hand out to take mine. I took it cautiously as he led me back out into the living room, one of Ke$ha's songs blaring from a nearby speaker. Jett gulped the last of the drink in his cup before tossing it on the hardwood floor amongst the others. I set my water bottle down, knowing all too well that I wouldn't be going back for it again that night, and was led to the middle of the floor. We turned to face each other, Jett's hands instantly wrapping themselves lightly around my waist, thankfully not knowing whether to hold me close to him or not. If it was Kendall I was dancing with, I'd wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer to me, but unfortunately that wasn't the case, so I sort of rested my hands lightly on his shoulders as he moved our bodies along with the beat. Was that a good thing? I couldn't tell. And the alcohol in my system _really_ isn't helping!

"So, how's school going for you?" Jett's voice spoke over the loud music, attempting to make small talk. Not working.

"Okay, just stop!" I exclaimed, yet not pulling away from him. You see how alcohol affects your brain? It doesn't help anything. "Why are you even doing this? It's not gonna help our relationship at all, if that's waht you think," I argued.

"How do yooouuu know that?" he asked, his voice starting to slur again, only it was more noticeable than before with Rachael. The last few swigs of beer I saw him take probably did it for him. This won't be good. Why me, why now? Why didn't I just ignore him when I got the chance, or escaped the kitchen quicker? Better yet, why did I fucking agree to come to this stupid party?

"I'm leaving," I stated, quickly removing my hands from his shoulders and going to turn around. I managed to release myself from Jett's grip, only to have him come up behind me and pull me tighter to his body.

"Nooo, stay baby, pleeeaaase," he whispered huskily into my ear, his lips brushing against my jaw line immediately after and leaving a trail of kisses down to the crook of my neck. Oh yeah, he's drunk now. Not again, please lord, _please_!

"Jett, I can't-" I continued to argue, feeling him start to nibble on my neck again. "I'm dating someone else. You know that," I reminded him.

I felt him shrug his shoulders. "I don't see him here now," Jett responded, going back to treating my neck.

I need Kendall here with me. "Jett, stop!" I exclaimed, bringing my hands to where his arms were around my waist and again releasing myself to make a quick get away. I even started to run a bit, with four-inch wedge sandals on my feet! I didn't really have a destination, just anyplace away from Jett. I made my way past the stairs and into the dining room, noticing a couple near fucking each other in the long table in there, before rounding into the kitchen. But did I make it, no.

I felt Jett come up behind me and wrap his arms around my waist yet again, this time picking me up with him and leading me to the stairwell. "Let me go!" I exclaimed angrily, not caring if anyone heard me. Praying, even, that someone could hear me over the loud music. "Don't do this!" I pleaded desperately. That didn't help. It even earned a laugh out of Jett. At this point, I had no idea if he even knew what was happening. Jett's body never did handle alcohol very well, and he got drunk really easily, hence the sudden change in attitude in the last two minutes.

Tears sprang to my eyes when I realized what was going to happen.

"C'mon babyyy, just a few minutes up heeere," he begged drunkenly, tightening his hold on me.

"Jett, come on, this won't help!" I said, my voice wavering as we reached the top of the stairs. Once there, Jett quickly rushed into a room with an open door, shutting it automatically when we stepped in. Technically him, but you get what I mean. He moved one arm to slide the light switch halfway to what I figured he considered a comfortable dim, and then moved me toward the bed that already had the sheets undone. I could even smell sex in here the second Jett and I entered. This is getting sicker by the second.

I started to sob, not knowing if it was due to the alcohol or not. "Jett, please, you can't do this!" I cried in fear.

"What are yooouuu worrying a-about?" Jett stammered over his words, a sickeningly sweet smile on his face. "I c-came… to this party to have s-some fun… and now, we'll haaave fun togetheeer," he slurred. I gulped as more tears escaped from my eyes. "J-Just let me, t-take care of yooouuu," he finished, going to my neck again and kissing the spot he nibbled on a moment ago.

"Stop," I begged one last time, hoping he'd come to his senses.

I have no idea what came over him, but I felt his hand collide with the side of my face, much like prom night two years ago. I knew I was sobbing uncontrollably at this point and heard Jett's angry voice screaming and stammering at me. From there, everything went fuzzy. I remember more screaming and then being carried out to a car. My vision was blurred in a mix of tears and the effects of the alcohol, so I couldn't tell exactly what was happening.

Then, everything went black as I drifted into a dreamless sleep.

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**Even I'm crying after writing that. :'( ****Next chapter should step away from all the rapre-related talk. Unless i have a sudden stroke of genius. Eh, you'll find out soon enough.**

**Ooh, and before i forget, alert me and stay tuned for a new KendallxJo oneshot! It's not related to this, but i guarantee you'll love it anyway. Stay tuned! :D**

**Review?**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	20. Chapter 19

**As of now, this story is rated M.**

**Another intense one heading your way. Good; bad? Thank the almighty lord for a Review button on this website :D**

**Again, i hope you guys like this. This chapter focuses on the aftermath of Jo's attack, as well as some of the upcoming chapters. Then we'll check back into the present with Kendall and Jo in her dorm and see how she's doing in there too, and some of the drama that'll be revealed then :0 Wait no, gah! I've said too much :(**

**Oh and one more thing, check out my new KenJo oneshot if you haven't already, "Whoever She Is." I'm really proud of it. I finally went back to it today and fixed all the typos, maybe added an extra line or two of dialogue in there, etc. If you read it sometime before today, please go back and re-read it. You'll probably like it even more this time. And leave a review for that, too (if you wouldn't mind :) )**

**So... "Bittersweet" preview? Here's a snippet of Chapter 8 for ya:**

"Kendall, Taylor needs to be fed," my mom said exasperated, coming from the basement with a basket of laundry. I didn't even acknowledge her. I just kept staring at the black screen of the big screen television, all old tapes and DVDs around me, some stacks graced with beer bottles.

"So feed her," I said miserably, my voice raspy, as I sunk back further into the couch, my eyes scanning the DVDs trying to figure out which one came next. My mother sighed angrily and looked at me with wide eyes.

"Why don't _you_? She is _your_ daughter, Kendall. You haven't spent two minutes with her since she was born," she said annoyed, her eyes narrowing as the rested the laundry on the love seat a few feet away. I really couldn't care less about hurting her feelings right now. It was what I was feeling that counted.

"I can't. I don't know how," I croaked out, searching through the DVDs for the next one I wanted to watch. I could finally watch them. I was numb to the pain now.

"That's a pretty sad excuse. Why don't you stop drinking and go in there and take care of your daughter," she snapped back angrily.

"I can't right now, I'm busy," I mumbled out confused, my eyes scanning for the next disc to pop in.

"Kendall, I'm not going to be here forever, alright? It's been two months. I know it still hurts, baby, believe me I know but you have to learn how to take care of Taylor. I have to show you things. That's why I am here. Your daughter doesn't even know who you **are **right now," she said sternly but with love. I looked up at her with shaky, teary eyes.

"Good. She doesn't want to know me," I said angrily, my voice raising. I always tended to get angry when tipsy.

"That's not true. She loves you. But you have to start taking care of her. I can't do it by myself," she said, folding some bath towels. Her eyes darted across the messy living room and she sighed annoyed and disappointed.

"You _have_ to get out of this depression, sweetheart. What if Jo saw you like this?" she asked sincerely. My eyes got wide when she said her name.

"**Don't!—**say her name," I yelled out angrily, standing up and pointing at my mother accusingly, my heart racing. "Don't **guilt** me, mom! I lost my **wife**," I said angrily. "I lost the most beautiful woman in the world, the only woman I've ever been with, the mother of my child!" I cried out angrily, my mo's face tensing. I breathed heavily, as my emotions took over.

"And she's not coming back," I cried defeated.

My shaky hands, and thrown off perception (thank you alcohol) easily caused me to knock down a small stack of home movies I had already watched with my foot.

"Shit," I mumbled heart wrenchingly, running my hands through my hair in agony, as I hung my head miserably, kicking a stack of DVDs down that I hadn't watched yet before sitting. I began to slowly cry into my hands, totally emotionally exhausted.

She came next to me and put a hand on my knee, another on my back as she pulled me to her, and kissed my hair gently. It was like I was five again, and had scraped my knee during hockey. I could only wish for that sort of hurt, knowing what** real** pain felt like now.

"I know, sweetheart," she spoke soothingly. "But you need to move forward. Taylor needs you. I'm not saying that you have to get over her death, or the fact that you lost her. But you _need_ to care for that little girl in there, Kendall," she said softly and sadly, a small tear leaking out of her eye. "She needs you."

I looked up at her and swallowed hard. My mind felt like exploding. How could I tell my mother that the reason I had been neglecting my daughter, the only salvage in my life, was because I felt guilty?

I had taken **her** mother away from her. I had killed Jo. How was she ever supposed to love me?

"I can't…I-I can't **look** at her, mom," I cried hysterically, burying my face in her shoulder in anguish.

**Oh come on, you know you want to read it! Go ahead, read it... NOW.**

**Disclaimer: **Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. All songs I mention belong to their rightful owners. All title rights go to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

**WARNING: This chapter deals with rape-related topics. If you're uncomfortable, don't read.**

* * *

"…Bring Amber into her room and get back here!" I heard a male voice call. It sounded fuzzy, but I could still make out the words. Everything from my chest up hurt me, but it was more of a stinging type of pain, nothing life-threatening… I hoped. Where am I? I felt like I was being carried, but couldn't tell if it was by a person or one of those hospital stretchers that carry you into an ambulance.

I tried to open my eyes to see what was happening, but it was super bright. Plus, images were still kind of fuzzy and blurry, so I couldn't make out anything even if I wanted to. My eyes closed again instantly, and a groan elicited its way from my hoarse throat.

"Here, get her in here," a different voice, a girl this time, called from a short distance. Whatever was carrying me sped its trek down, well, wherever we were, and rushed in her direction. I heard a door swing open and before I knew it, I was moved onto a softer surface. A bed, I finally concluded. I heard myself groan again, whether it was voluntarily or not I couldn't tell, and then the guy spoke again.

"Well, she's conscious, that's a start," he said optimistically with a soft chuckle. Hey buddy, this isn't funny! I felt a calloused hand touch one side of my face, applying pressure softly. I felt pain coarse right through my head, making my already throbbing headache worse at the slight touch, and I tensed immediately. "Shit, there's some bruising on here," he reported to I guess whoever was in the room, probably that same girl who told him to come in here. No shit, I thought I broke a nail. He still didn't move his hand away. In fact, he slid it up slowly towards my forehead, his thumb stroking an area near my hairline gently. I heard the girl ask another question or two, her tone almost hysterical, but she was too far for me to make out anything she was saying clearly. She was asking about me though, I could tell. I mean, what other battered girl was in there in here? Unless I'm in a raped-person-care center of the sort. "No, it's not deep, I don't think the ER would do anything about it if we brought her in," he answered her. Wait, did that mean I was bleeding? What's happening to me? Fuck that, what _happened_ to me? Wait, he said the ER wouldn't do anything, so I'm not in a hospital. Where am I?

The guy spoke again. "Please tell me there's a first aid kit or something in here," he said.

"Yeah, I think there's one in here somewhere," the girl answered, followed by heels clicking against the floor as she searched… where am I again? I asked that like five fucking times already!

"Jo… Jo, hey, wake up sleepyhead," the guy asked, putting a hand on my shoulder and gently shaking me in an attempt to bring me out of my oh so peaceful slumber. Hey, I recognize that voice now.

I heard a door open. "How is she?" a new girl asked in a rushed voice. I recognized that one, too! It was Natalie, I think. Or was it Camille? No, it was definitely Natalie…

"Not good," the guy voice answered. Will. "She's not bad, but not great either," he added.

The girl I thought was Natalie spoke up again. "She's still not awake yet?" she asked, her tone near frantic. "Should we call an ambulance or something? What if its something more than actually sleeping, Will? What if Jett tried to drug her and we don't know about it? What if-"

"Camille, zip it!" Will exclaimed, trying to hold in a chuckle. Wow, I was off. "Jo is fine, I promise. I don't see any serious injuries, she was moaning in her sleep a while ago, she'll wake up soon and all will be right in the world again," he said.

As if on cue, I let out another groan to help prove his point. But I wasn't the one who initiated it, you know?

It went unnoticed as far as I knew. "Still, what about that cut on her forehead? Won't she need stitches for that or something? You know, head injuries are traumatic and you can lose more blood from there than any other part of the body, and-"

"Camille!" Will exclaimed for the fifth time, already trying to get her to shut up during her rant. "Relax… take a deep breath, okay?" he suggested. Camille obliged to his request. "Go lie down for a sec. You were on stage for three hours tonight, you had a lot to drink, you're tired, just go relax and calm down for a minute. Jo's in good hands, I swear," he said, ending with a light chuckle. "Besides, you know me, I'd never try to kill her… at this point, anyway," he ended smugly.

Wow, love the vote of confidence, buddy.

"And Camille, don't forget, Will was on the Cape May EMT squad for a few years, I think he knows what he's doing," the original girl voice spoke, coming over to join them. Now that sounded more like Natalie.

Camille let out a breath. "Right…" I heard her sigh.

"Did you find anything?" Will then asked Natalie.

"Just a few Band-Aids," she answered casually. I imagined her handing them over to him. "That's all you need anyway, right?"

Will chuckled lightly. "Yeah, this and whatever you-" he paused, my guess to point at Camille, "take for your weekly hangovers," he ended with an amused-sounding voice. "She'll definitely have it bad tomorrow morning," he added. Oh boy, just what I always wanted, a hangover right before my first class of the week. Now that he mentioned it, I did feel a little lightheaded. And the sharp headache wasn't making anything better for me, either!

"I'll go find the Advil, then," Camille responded lightly.

Grr, why can't I open my eyes at all? I wanna see what's going on. Heck, I want someone to actually tell me what's going on, or what happened after Jett hit me. I want Kendall to be here and take care of me. I mean, I love Will, and I trust him (mostly) and all, but it's not the same.

"Jo, wake up…" Will voice urged me, a hand shaking my shoulder again. "C'mon, up and at 'em, Jozilla," he continued as I felt something like a piece of tape be put on my forehead.

My eyes opened slowly at the new physical contact, and everything went downhill from there. All common sense left my system, and everything from the night flooded back into my mind. My entire body tensed up instantly, sensing that there was someone on top of me once again. I forgot everything I had just heard, and forgot about where I was and who was in there with me. All I saw was a guy's body towering over me and touching my face as I started muttering "No," repeatedly.

"Jo?" one of the girls asked. I couldn't pinpoint who it was.

I closed my eyes tightly again. "Get off…" I nearly begged, desperation in my voice.

"Jo-"

"Get off!" I cried out, shoving the guy off of me completely thinking he was Jett. My eyes were only half-open at this point, and my vision still wasn't back to normal. Damn booze. My head still throbbed too, which _really_ wasn't helping the matter! Things continued to go uphill from there. "Get out, leave me alone!" I screamed directly at Will, grabbing a pillow from behind me and violently flung it in his direction as tears started cascading down my face. It actually knocked his glasses off his head, making them land on the floor in front of him.

"Jo. Jo, it's just Will," Camille said worriedly as Will bent down to grab his glasses once again and put them on.

That didn't bring me out of whatever trance I was in. "Get out!" I screamed again. "Get out, get out, get out!" I continued to cry, throwing another pillow at the two. Natalie had distanced herself away from me at this point. I don't blame her. I collapsed back down onto the bed and turned so I was crying into the sheets and comforter. It wasn't hysterical, but it wasn't something anyone would want to stick around and watch either, you know? And it certainly wasn't loud enough to drown out the three's voices as they talked about how to deal with me.

"What's wrong with her?" Camille started to ask. "Why did she just lash out on us like that?"

"She's in shock, I guess," Will answered her. I fully recognized his voice again, even through my own sobs, and wanted to cry harder for treating him so badly. "Any guy that goes near her will scare the living daylights out of her for a while. Even when the guys and I came into the room and I went over to her, she started throwing punches at me and shoving me away from her like just then," he explained. Wait, when were there other guys in that bedroom? Was that the excess screaming I had heard before blacking out? Now that makes a little more sense…

"Hey don't worry about it," Will said after a moment of talking with the girls and reassuring them I'd be okay. "I'm gonna go check on Amber and see how she's doing… Text me if there's any change," he got out before stepping out of the room. Oh God, what happened to Amber? Don't tell me Jett or one of his posse got to her and did this, too…

My crying had subsided a little bit at this point, way under the hysterical level on the cry-dometer, if there was such a thing. I felt the bed sink in next to me and a hand start rubbing my bare arm up and down soothingly. "Jo…" Camille said softly, trying to calm me down. "Jo, it's okay. Everything's done and over with, you have nothing to worry about," she told me. I continued crying softly for another while before fully recovering from my outburst and sat up in my bed. My eyes flashed around our dorm quickly, noticing that Natalie had left along with Will- Oh God, Will. What did I do to him tonight? How was he feeling? Did I hurt him? Emotionally, physically? Shit, that won't be a fun meeting when I see him again.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Camille asked, still keeping a hand on my arm as an extra reassurance in case I needed it.

I sniffled and shrugged my shoulders. "Suckish," I muttered, bringing my hands up to wipe any remaining tear streaks from my face.

The brunette smiled sympathetically. "That's understandable," she said after a few seconds, obviously choosing her words carefully. I nodded back as we heard a cell phone ring from her bag. Camille reached down for it and took out my phone, glancing at the Caller ID. I had stuffed mine in there along with hers earlier in the night before we got to the beach house. "It's Kendall," she responded.

I shook my head. Shit. "No… no, no, I can't answer that," I said, shoving the phone down and away from me.

Camille looked almost shocked. "What? Come on, Jo, answer it," she urged, pushing the phone closer to me.

"No, I don't even want to think about talking to Kendall right now!" I fought, pushing the phone in her direction. I knew that would turn out to be a bad idea sometime soon, but didn't think about it.

"Come on – he knows you were at a party tonight, he probably just wants to check up on you," Camille said.

"Fine, you want him to know what's going on with me? You answer it!" I shouted back, grimacing. I knew I would win then. Camille never liked to interfere with anyone's personal business like this. But here's the thing with her: she needs to know what's going on or what happened to someone. However, she'd never tell a soul anything that had nothing to do with the issue. And that was the point I was trying to get across to her, that none of this was Kendall's business and that it never would be. So ha, I win!

She shrugged. "Fine," she answered, picking up the cell phone. Uh-oh. I didn't expect that.

"No," I muttered again. "No, no, no, Camille, you better fucking not-"

"Hello," she answered the call casually.

"Give me the phone!" I exclaimed angrily. "Camille, stop!" I tried again, feeling more tears spring to my eyes. Didn't I just get over my previous breakdown? But she continued to ignore me and talk with Kendall. "No, Camille, Camille," I sobbed, collapsing on my bed once again and sobbing softly. Camille continued talking to Kendall, completely going against my wishes. I heard a door open meanwhile and felt my bed sink in again a moment later. I distinctively heard Natalie's voice say soothing and comforting words like Camille had done not two minutes ago, but nothing was working on me right now.

It seemed like everything in my life that I felt I had handled was fraying apart at the seams. First Kendall walked into my life and shook things up for me mentally, and then the Jett aspect of my life came back into play. Kendall and I have been separated for about a month now. Jett was up here with his buddies after I thought I was done with him for good. And tonight… must I say it? No? Oh thank God. Now, Camille was, for lack of a better term right now, betraying my trust and was about to blab to Kendall everything that happened earlier tonight. I get it, I get why she feels like he needs to know, but it's my life, and even though I feel such an incredible, near unbreakable bond with Kendall (despite our short period of time that we've known each other), I don't feel that connected with him to really tell him what happened. Maybe if we have been together in the same place for the last month and he had gone to the party with us, I'd feel differently. I mean, those are reasonable excuses for why I don't want him to know, right? I'm not going insane yet.

Plus, wouldn't it be more meaningful for _me_ to tell him _in person_ anyway? That's how I'd figured it would happen, _if _I decided to tell him…

My sobs had subsided briefly for a minute and I could hear Camille talking with Kendall still on the phone. "I don't know, just… some personal shit kind of went down between them earlier tonight…" she trailed off.

Fuck, no. Don't say it, do _not_ say it. "Camille…" I heard myself sobbed beggingly again, not even sure if it was audible to her through my cries.

"Jo, she won't say anything," I heard Natalie say, her hand softly rubbing up and down my back to try and shush me.

"Hold on, I'm gonna step outside for a sec," Camille's voice said, and I could hear her footsteps as she went out our door. I cried out again for her to not do anything, losing all of my trust in her with future phone calls.

Natalie spoke up. "Camille, maybe you shouldn't…" she said worriedly. Now that is a true friend right there.

I turned my head and faced the two of them. "P-Please…" I whimpered one last time, sniffling again.

Camille stepped forward when she heard me speak. The phone was now facing her shoulder, the speaker part pressed into her shoulder so Kendall wouldn't hear what was going on over here. "Jo, I really think he should know at some point," she said, kneeling down and moving some hair out of my face. "Now is the perfect opportunity," she added in a slight optimistic tone.

"But I don't want him to know yet!" I shot back.

She sighed sadly and turned back to Natalie. "Try to calm her down, I'll be back in a minute," she told her, standing up and making her way to the door.

I turned my head and cried softly into the remaining pillows on my bed again. It wasn't as bad as when Natalie had stepped into the room, though, I noticed. I couldn't figure out what, but something in my head sort of told me that the sooner I stopped, the more likely Camille wouldn't say anything, and then maybe let me talk to him. Natalie had done what Camille instructed her to do, but I didn't pay attention to anything she said or did.

A little while later, my tears had subsided again for a while, and I was determined to keep it that way for as long as possible. Seeing I was better, Natalie said she would step out and check on Camille. That left me alone with my thoughts in the dorm, whimpering on occasion while I played with a loose thread or two on the sheets. It probably wasn't the smartest idea, as all I thought about was what I could remember of the party until the door swung open again. A few mmore minutes of lonliness passed before the door opened. I looked up and Camille stepped in, phone pressed to her shoulder again as she made her way over to me. "Jo," she said when I looked down and continued twirling the threads mindlessly.

"What?" I asked monotonously.

"Kendall wants to speak with you," she told me happily.

I glanced back up at her, a hopeful and saddened look in my eyes. "What?" I asked again, more alert this time.

She smiled. "Kendall wants to talk to you, he's worried now," she informed me.

I sat up in bed, putting most of my weight on one of my arms. "You didn't…?" I trailed off as she handed me the phone.

"No," she answered immediately, shaking her head. If my head wasn't so screwy right now, I would have found it suspicious that she did answer so quickly. I shrugged it off. "No, he doesn't know a thing," she reassured me.

I sighed and took the phone, pressing it to my ear nervously. "Kendall?"

"Hey," he greeted calmly. I could almost hear his relieved smile through the receiver. "How are you feeling? Camille said you had a rough night," he told me.

I sniffled. "Yeah, I did," I answered weakly, seeing Camille smile out of the corner of my eye. "You don't know how happy I am to hear your voice," I added honestly.

"That bad?" he asked me.

"You have no idea," I scoffed lightly, letting the smallest of smiles show on my face. The first real one I've had since I ran into Jett at the party.

"Do you wanna tell me about it?" Kendall asked carefully, the tone in his voice dropping slightly.

I chewed my lower lip nervously and shook my head. "Not right now," I said with another sniffle.

"That's fine, you don't have to," he answered in a distraught tone, leading me to guess that he wasn't too happy with my answer. "You don't have to say anything right now," he said again.

"Alright," I sighed, nodding a little.

His tone lightened up a bit. "Just tell me one thing, though…"

"Okay…?" I said, almost beginning to worry about his question.

"Were any of the guys that hit on you at the party hotter than me?" he asked cheekily.

I smirked. "You wish," I responded, snickering lightly. The smile on Camille's face grew even wider hearing me laugh. And I could tell that Kendall was feeling relieved and liked the sound as well. He laughed a little back and spoke again.

"Damn straight."

We talked for another brief minute or so. Camille saw that I was evidently feeling better and went to her side of the room to clean some stuff up. We stayed on the phone with each other for another little while longer before Kendall decided that he should get off and try to get some sleep, since he had an early recording session in the morning. It was James and Carlos' fault, supposedly. Not surprising whatsoever. "Okay, I'll let you go then," I responded sadly.

"No, don't do that to me," Kendall said.

"Don't do what?" I asked him curiously.

"Don't go all sad and depressed on me again," he told me. "The last thing I need is to lose sleep worrying about you all night," he added.

"Then don't," I said. "You're gonna be busy all day tomorrow at the studio, don't even think about tonight," I persisted.

"How can I not when you're so upset right now?" he asked. I was about to answer, but he beat me to it. "Look, I really have to go right now," he spoke, sounding more stressed than any other time I spoke to him. "I'll call you tomorrow night when Carlos and I get back home, alright?" he suggested. He and Carlos were roommates in one of the apartments that they had spoken about on E! a while ago.

I smiled. "Okay," I replied.

"I mean, you can call me up to if something bad happens, you know that too, right?" he rambled lightly. "I'd prefer to make you feel better anyway than listen to Gustavo curse us out every five seconds," he added, ending with a laugh.

I giggled back lightly. "I will if I really need it. I'm not gonna interrupt you guys and make anything worse for you," I said.

"Don't worry about that, okay?" Kendall said reassuringly. "Call any time, any _hour_, you need me, and I'll pick up no matter what," he insisted.

"You're the best boyfriend ever, you know that?" I asked him, smiling as I sniffled again.

"Just trying to make you feel better," he told me. "Love you."

I smiled again. We had never actually said that we loved each other, but we ended any phone call or video conversation like that. Hearing him say it again instantly made me feel so much better, as if just talking to him wasn't enough. "Love you, too, Kendall," I responded.

We said our goodbyes and hung up. Camille stepped over a second later, sitting on my bed with a tired look in her eyes. "What did he say?" she asked.

"Just that he was there if he needed me and to call him whenever something came up," I answered vaguely.

She nodded. "You know, he really was worried about you when I was talking to him, earlier," she told me. "I mean, he could hear you crying in the background and everything. I swore, he probably was beginning to think that you did get beat up or something," she continued. I ducked my head at this, making her shake her head. "Wait, no, forget I said anything, I'm sorry," she started to go off in a frantic voice, thinking it would stir up a flashback or something, I guessed.

I shook my head and picked it back up. "Don't be, it's okay," I said. "I mean, I have to face it headfirst at some point, right?"

Camille smiled brightly. "There you go. You're definitely feeling better now," she said optimistically. I nodded as she got up from the bed, only to kneel down and search for one of the storage boxes I had under my bed. "Here," she said, tossing me a blue tank top and pair of pajama pants. "Why don't you change into these and wash up quickly, you'll feel more comfortable, then," she suggested as she stood back up.

I nodded again. "That's not a bad idea," I agreed, slowly sliding off of the bed and grabbing my clothes. When I was standing up, I wrapped my arms around Camille and hugged her tight, sniffling a little when she hugged me back. "Thanks so much, Cam. You're the best," I told her in gratitude.

"Anytime, Jo."

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**There you have it! What do you think, kinda seems like Camille was the one who told Kendall what happened. Doesn't it? We'll find out as this progresses...**

**Please review and send me your feedback. I'd really appreciate it! And also be sure to check out (or re-read) "Whoever She Is" when you get the chance. It's long, like 12,000+ words, but its definitely worth the read, if i do say so for myself. And, even better, there's some more Jett-bashing in it :D Gotta love that.**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	21. Chapter 20

**Alright, just to make surfergal23 happy, I'll update this tonight... (You're welcome :P)**

**Whoo, 4000-some words :D Another long emotional one headed your way. Maybe intense too… eh, I'll let you decide. Give me some feedback and let me know?**

**And one last thing…**

**R.I.P. my lovely godmother, who passed away in the last week, and I just heard about it today. I hadn't seen or talked to her in 10 years (maybe less, I don't really remember), but she was always so nice and sweet, and cared deeply for my family. She was cremated and there's not gonna be any service for her, so… might as well share my love somehow, right? Love you and miss you so much, Aunt M****!  
(not sure if she'd want me to use her name online :) )**

**Alright, enough sadness- oh wait, this is a sad chapter you're about to read… Yeah, sorry for the damper on your mood that's sure to come. Forgive me?**

**Here's another "Bittersweet" preview for your liking! :D**

"Daddy?"

I sat at the kitchen table at 10:00 PM, resting my head on hand, elbows on the table, piled up in paperwork. While being a doctor who performed tons of surgeries a day, I also had to make sure all my files were well kept and organized in my office. This was the worst part of my job. I had been sitting here since 7:00 doing this, and wasn't even a quarter of the way done.

I didn't even bother looking my son in the face.

"What?" I asked back with a bit of attitude in my voice. My reading glasses sat on the tip of my nose, as I rubbed my forehead, sensing a huge neck ache and migraine in the morning. Devin came over to me with a small piece of folded construction paper in his hand.

"This is for you," he said in a small little voice, holding out the construction paper to me. I sat back in my chair and sighed heavily, as I took the card from Devin. There was a big, messy yellow and orange sun on the front and it said "Daddy" in that same, generic, little Kid handwriting. I opened it up and inside, there was a white sheet of paper with a decorative border, heavily pasted on to the construction paper.

**"Julien Elementary Father, Uncle, Grandpa, Special Person Day"  
**April 13th, 9 AM  
Mrs. Cook's Pre-School Class, Room 106B  
Bring your smiles!

I smiled at the invitation and then looked at Devin whose head was down, fidgeting his fingers in his Minnesota Wild pajamas. He looked almost nervous of me for a second.

"This is for me, bud?" I asked him with a small smile, my face lighting up. Devin looked up at me and nodded as I re-read the invitation smiling. This was in two weeks. I would have to take off of work tomorrow at the latest to let them know I wouldn't be here. I couldn't miss this.

I sighed and took off my glasses, reaching down and hoisting up Devin on my lap. I grunted as the small boy giggled and I messed up his hair.

"I would absolutely love to go, bud. Thanks for inviting me," I spoke softly, as he turned his face to me. His brown eyes seemed to light up with liveliness and he smiled that toothless smile.

"Really daddy?" he asked excitedly, as if he was sixteen and I'd told him he could have my car or something like that. I chuckled and nodded, kissing his forehead gently, taking in the scent of the shampoo that Camille had just bathed him with.

"Of course. I'll be there," I said to him with a raised eyebrow and a funny smirk. Devin giggled and I looked at the cover of the card and smiled.

"Who drew this sun? Because whoever did must be a **really** good artist," I joked with a deep voice. Devin giggled again and looked up at me with a smile.

"I drew it daddy!" he said gleefully. I pretended to act shocked at his revelation and I laughed.

"Woah. I never knew you were such a good artist, Devin. Can you draw me some more of those suns sometime?" I asked him, holding onto him tightly. Devin nodded and then looked up me with a serious face. I gave him an odd look and he furrowed his brow confused. Everything got quiet.

"Daddy, why are you never home anymore?" he asked me softly. I swallowed hard and looked at my son a bit floored. It was a question I had expected from Camille, but definitely not from my son. The mood in the room had just changed from loveable father and son, to sad son and failure father.

**Aw, fatherly Logan is awesome! Actually, any BTR boy acting all fatherly is amazing. And surfergal23 portrays it very well in here. So, if you wanna see Kendall and Logan act all fatherly, go check this out. It's worth the read, I swear!**

**But first, read this, of course. Happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: **Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. All songs I mention belong to their rightful owners. All title rights go to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

**WARNING: This chapter deals with rape-related topics. Uncomfortable? Don't read. :)**

* * *

I'm not sure what's happening right now. It kind of feels like I'm dreaming, but I can't tell. I'm in my dorm, I know that much. The dark blue walls, my bed, Camille's bed, her bright colored comforter and Logan Mitchell poster on her side, our desks, the beanbag chair, it all looked familiar. I was staring up at the ceiling, and then a shirtless Jett got into the picture.

"No…" I tried to say, but nothing came out. I shook my head and tried to say it again, but again, nothing happened.

"What's the matter, baby?" Jett asked, his tone full of lust as his hand cupped my face. He smiled at me then. "It's alright to be scared, I won't do anything to you…" he said comfortingly before capturing my lips in a kiss. I tried using my arms to push him off of me, but it was no use. In fact, I felt much weaker than I usually was, making tears spring to my eyes. I suddenly felt a large, horrific wave of pain wash over my entire lower half. Wait, aren't you not supposed to feel pain in a dream? Guess that confirms that this isn't a dream. It's a nightmare, or hell, or something in between. I wanted to scream, but nothing came out of my mouth again. I wanted to get Jett off of me and run out of the room. I wanted to open the door and find Kendall on the other side. I wanted him to know everything that happened at prom and the following summer. I wanted it to stop.

It was happening all over again.

The setting around Jett started to fade, and it changed to the backseat of his old car, and I could hear a few drunken calls in the background. I was about to throw a tantrum, and actually heard my voice this time when I went to scream. Success! Someone would hear me and help me out this time, right? Nope. As always, I am wrong.

His rough hand cupped over my mouth. "Scream again, and little ol' Justin Timberlake back in Hollywood will never see or hear from the likes of you again!" he threatened, his previous gentle demeanor completely forgotten. Fucking wonderful.

I felt another sharp pain coarse through my body and I started trembling from the after effects of it. Jett chuckled darkly and my vision went black.

I opened my eyes once again to find another change in scenery. We were in Kendall's apartment. I recognized the off-white walls and pieces of furniture I had seen in the background when Kendall and I were on video chat. Only this time, I was standing up and was fully clothed, and Kendall was standing right in front of me. Yay, my Knight in shining armor. Literally and metaphorically. Some time had passed, I guessed, but it definitely wasn't a lot. Could have been a week or so. I felt myself smile widely as I looked up at him, only to have my face drop a second later. His eyes were glazed over in sadness and unshed tears, and were cast down to the ground. His arms were cross in front of his chest with a scowl on his face and thick furrowed eyebrows.

"H-How could you?" he asked me softly, catching my gaze again.

What the hell is going on now?

"I-I didn't do anything," I heard myself say, desperation in my voice as I spoke. No, don't tell me he thinks-

"You cheated on me," he declared, choking on a sob and his voice wavering.

"B-But it wasn't my f-fault," I stuttered, feeling more tears brim my eyes once again. This couldn't be happening.

Kendall laughed dryly and sarcastically. "I was on my computer and saw you and some other dude in bed on Skype!" he exclaimed bitterly.

"But it's not-"

"It's not what I think?" he cut me off, and let out another dry laugh as he stepped closer to me. Okay, now he's scaring me. "It's not what it looks like? Huh, is that what you're trying to tell me?" he asked, his voice laced with venom and fury. The look in his eyes had never scared me so much in my entire life.

"Kendall, p-please, you ha-have to believe m-me," I started sobbing, reaching out to grab his hands. When they wrapped around his wrists, they went right through his skin and bones, almost like I was a ghost or something.

He shook his head at me, disgusted. "Unbelievable," he huffed before turning and walking past me to the door of his apartment.

"Kendall," I called after him. He didn't respond. "Kendall, you have to listen to me!" I exclaimed, still earning no response after him. He opened the wooden door and started to walk out. I tried calling his name again, this time in hysterical sobs. "Kendall… _Kendall!_" Again, it was no use.

My legs felt weak and they started to give out on me. I kneeled to the ground and started crying uncontrollably. I buried my head in my arms and went to lie down on the floor. It was official, my whole life was falling apart. Jett had hurt me again, and Kendall didn't believe me when I tried to explain everything to him. The one time I decided to say _something_!

The scene changed one last time and I was back home in North Carolina in my bedroom. I was lying on my bed, hair fanned out and hanging over the side of my mattress as I looked up at my cell phone. Tears were falling from my eyes yet again as I stared at a text message from Camille. I don't remember exactly what it said, but it was accusing me of cheating on Kendall with Jett, I know that much. My phone vibrated again, and it was a similar message from Amber. Followed by one from Will. Then Natalie. Then Michelle. Then my dad (whoa, since when did he start texting). Then my mom. Then Camille again, and the same cycle repeated. What the hell – they were fucking with me the night all this shit happened! Will even said that he and a bunch of other guys were in the freaking room with me. They knew I'd never hurt Kendall like that.

Yup, now I've fully lost control of every aspect of my life.

* * *

I felt myself jolt up and into a sitting position milliseconds later. I was in a dark room this time. My dorm room. I was breathing heavily, and tears pricked at my eyes as I stuck out a hand and felt around me. I was back in my bed; I could feel that this time. My comforter was bunched up in a couple areas, but was still draped over my body for the most part. I started shaking again. What would happen to me now? Am I still dreaming? Is this real life?

I turned to my right and looked at the alarm clock. _Monday, 4:21am_. Yes, I'm not dreaming, it's all real. Sure, I barely slept for two hours, but honestly I don't think I could feel any happier right now.

I was taken back to the dorm around 1:45 earlier this morning, according to Camille, and once everything had calmed down, I fell asleep rather quickly just after two-thirty, along with Camille I supposed. It probably wasn't my smartest move, seeing as what my subconscious had just played out in front of me, but it had to happen at some point, right? I felt a sudden headache start to come on again.

I heard stirring and looked up from the clock, noticing Camille move to get up. "Jo?" she questioned groggily as she sat up in bed.

I swallowed before answering. "Y-Yeah?" I stuttered.

"Are you okay?" she asked, yawning. "I thought I heard you cry in your sleep or something…" she trailed off, now fully sitting up.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I answered with a fast nod, making my head throb worse. Everything around me started to spin a little. The light suddenly came on and I heard Camille's concerned voice again, which didn't make things any better. I even felt a wave of nausea come over me.

"Jo, are you okay?" she asked again, coming to sit on my bed.

I nodded again, _slowly_. "Yeah, I- I… I gotta go!" I said quickly, jumping out of the bed as I felt my stomach churn and bile start to rise up my throat. Camille called my name again, but I was already halfway down the hall on my way to the bathroom. No one was in there, luckily, and I rushed into the first stall and hunched over the toilet as I threw up. I felt sweat gather on the back of my neck and the tears that had formed earlier in my eyes start to fall down my face. That was weird, I haven't thrown up and cried since I was about eight, maybe even ten years old. I guessed it was a result of the dream and the alcohol I had consumed earlier all finally catching up to me.

Camille came into the stall behind me. I felt her hold my hair back as I continued puking my guts out. Literally. I felt like all of my internal organs were lying in the toilet right now. Gross, I know. I coughed up what was left in my stomach before flushing the toilet and collapsing on my knees onto the floor, sighing heavily. Camille stepped out of the stall, only to return a couple seconds later as she helped me up. "Here," she offered, handing me my toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. I glanced behind her and realized she brought my entire shower caddy with her when she first came in.

"Thanks," I sighed, no emotion in my voice as I accepted the items in her hands. She gave me a sympathetic look and I moved towards the sink. I furiously started brushing my teeth, getting rid of any lingering taste of vomit in my mouth before I spit everything up and turned the faucet off. I took a second to look at myself in the mirror, not even recognizing myself anymore. My skin looked unbelievably whiter and paler than usual, like Edward Cullen pale. There were a couple faint purplish marks forming on either side of my face, too. I noticed dark bags beginning to form underneath my eyes, already droopy, and red and swollen from crying. Whether it was in my sleep for from getting sick, I wasn't so sure of. Even the deep brown color in them even looked a few shades lighter now.

I was happy Camille brought my stuff in here, because I still felt gross and felt the need to shower. But my head still hurt pretty badly, keeping me from doing much of anything I really wanted to do. I settled for washing my face before going back into my room and setting my stuff down where it previously was. I sat on the edge of my bed, taking a couple deep breaths to calm myself down before I heard Camille's voice again.

"Here," she said a second time that night, and I saw her hand in front of my face with a couple Advil tablets resting in it. "It'll help the hangover," she added weakly, a small yet kind smile on her lips when I looked up at her.

She dropped the pills in my hands and handed me a bottle of water. "I'm getting your phone. We're calling Kendall. He said to call whenever, right?" she asked me.

I shook my head. "Don't… recording session, early tomorrow," I got out, my voice weak and rather quiet. "H-He needs to sleep tonight…"

"You have to call him, Jo. I mean, look at you right now," she told me, sitting next to me. I ignored her and took the medication, my hands shaking slightly, as she looked on sympathetically. "You were even saying his name in your sleep once or twice, you need to talk to him," she insisted, touching my arm gently. "Or I'll call him again. Do you want that?" she threatened. The corners of my mouth turned up, but never made a full smirk, or even a smile. I still didn't say anything and kept my gaze on the floor. "I'm getting your phone," she suddenly announced, jumping off the bed and searching for my cell phone. I didn't fight her this time.

Before I knew it, she was sitting next to me on the bed again, shoving the phone to my ear again. I heard it ring, feeling thankful Camille wasn't speaking to him this time.

Midway through the second ring, Kendall picked up. "Jo?" he said worriedly.

"Hi," I heard myself say. "Did I wake you?" I asked, finally taking the phone from Camille's grasp and holding it myself, rubbing at my eyes.

"No," he answered easily, making a wave of guilt wash over me. "What time is it over there, anyway?" he asked.

I glanced at the clock while Camille moved off of my bed. "Around four-thirty," I answered, moving to lie down and wrapped the covers around my still shaking my body. Shouldn't that have subsided by now? I quickly did the math in my head. It was still really early in the morning where he was. "I'm so sorry," I apologized faintly, closing my eyes.

"Don't be," he replied back. "What's up? Why'd you call me?" he then asked me.

I sighed. "Thank Camille for that," I said looking up and catching her gaze. She smiled brightly and innocently at me before moving to the closet. Was she getting ready for the day _this early_ in the morning? "I… I kinda had a rough night, and I had trouble sleeping, I just got really sick right now, and… I don't know, Camille thought that talking to you would make me feel better," I explained briefly.

"Well, is it?" he asked. I smiled at this, my body sinking into the mattress again.

"Yeah, a little," I answered faintly.

"Well I'm glad to hear," he said, earning a smirk to form on my lips. "Are you really okay, though? You sound sorta distraught and spacey over there. I feel like I should be worried now," he told me, his voice uneven.

"It's nothing, I promise," I responded. It wasn't nothing, though. I knew I'd have trouble sleeping for a long while after having that dream, or nightmare. No, it was worse than a nightmare. It needs its own category, that's how bad it was.

"Doesn't sound like nothing…" Kendall said, encouraging me to tell him what was up with me. Fat chance.

Then again, I wouldn't exactly be telling him about my past. He could think that it was just pure coincidence I had a dream like that. And it would relate to tonight. As far as he knows, my ex just came up here and started some shit back up. I could tell him. Plus, I could really use the reassurance from him. What could it hurt?

I sighed again. "You'll laugh," I told him, "or maybe even be mad that something this pointless is bothering me," I continued to argue. Think about it, it was a fucking dream, for crying out loud. Nothing bad is happening to me now, I shouldn't be freaked out.

"You're shaken you up, so now it's bothering me… and I have no idea what you're even thinking about," he said with a hint of laughter.

Tears welled up in my eyes again. Maybe I shouldn't tell him. I looked up and saw that Camille had stuck in the room, sitting on her bed as she listened to Kendall and I speak. Well, really me, but whatever. She nodded her head to egg me on, smiling for encouragement. "I-It's nothing really, it was just a dream. But it was just so real, and just…" I said nervously.

"Just what, Jo?" he questioned.

I closed my eyes. "Just… everything. Everything you said and did… it felt so real, a-and then Jett, and everything hurt so bad…" I went on, slowly opening my eyes. I doubt I'm even making sense right now, but I'm not one to care about that at a time like this.

"Jo, you're scaring me now," Kendall responded.

"Forget it, I barely remember it now, anyway. It's nothing," I repeated to him. Total lie. I remember every bit of it.

"You wanna tell me what you do remember?" he asked me.

I sniffled. "Are you alone?" I asked him softly, trying to delay my answer.

"Yeah, I'm alone," he answered back. "Carlos is asleep in his room, James and Logan are down the hall, there's no one here with me," he promised.

I sighed and nodded against my pillow. "I-It… it started back at my dorm, and my exboyfriend – that Jett guy I was talking about," I started, "H-He's the one who started everything tonight, and he was in the room with me, too, a-and h-he…" I trailed off, uneasiness in my tone.

Kendall could sense it. "Go on, it's okay," he urged me on.

I nodded again. "…He- He came on top of me, and we were in my bed, and…" I trailed off, taking a deep breath to calm myself down long enough to continue. "He started t-to hit me, and he didn't have any clothes on… and I felt the worst p-pain imaginable like, a second later…" I stopped again, hoping he was starting to get the picture. He didn't say anything back, wanting me to continue. "I tried calling for help, but nothing came out of my mouth, and nothing happened… A-And everything around me changed, and we were in yours and Carlos' apartment, I guess. You were there with me. Y-you said that I had cheated on you, and you wouldn't listen to a-anything I was saying when I defended myself," I said, already starting to lose it. "Y-You ended things with us, like right on the spot, and a-all of my friends and f-family wouldn't believe me e-either…" I sniffled and let a few tears fall as I ended my story. I unwillingly, let a sob escape my throat, feeling Camille sit next to me again and rub a hand up and down my back soothingly.

"Jo, it's okay," I heard Kendall say through the phone, sensing tears on his end as well. Crap, I really did not want that. And from the corner of my eye, I could even see Camille begin to tear up, too. Bad move, Jo, very bad move!

But I went on. "It was s-so real, K-Kendall," I told him again, voice still shaky. "Like, the- the text messages my friends sent me, a-all the stuff you s-said to me, the anger in your eyes…" I continued sadly, again trying to hold back a few sobs as I spoke.

"But none of it was real, Jo," he reminded me in a distraught voice. My doing. "You're okay, you're fine, and nothing between us has changed," he added.

"I kn-know," I said tearfully, picking my head up off the pillow. "I thought I lost e-everything and everyone I l-loved though, and n-no one w-would believe me, Kendall, no o-one," I continued with a shaky voice. "Please believe me, K-Kendall, I didn't w-want any of this to happen tonight…" I said, nearly going off in a fit of sobs again. I didn't care that I nearly told him what happened.

Kendall sighed over the phone. "Jo, listen to me for a second, okay?" he suggested. I already felt myself start to calm down. "Just breathe, relax for a minute…" I could hear his own voice wavering as he spoke. I nearly started to cry again hearing the desperation in his voice. I did as he suggested, taking deep breaths and wiping the tears from my face as I calmed myself down easily. "Everything is okay, Jo, alright? What did I just tell you – nothing is going to change the way I feel about you," he repeated himself.

I exhaled deeply. Yup, we'll see how that is when I actually tell you about Jett.

He spoke again. "I really wish I could be there with you…" Kendall went on, his tone still a little shaky. "You've never been this upset around me."

I sniffled. "See, I knew I shouldn't have said anything," I told him.

"What are you talking about? I'm glad you told me this," he argued.

"Yeah, b-but-"

"But nothing," Kendall butted in. Well. "Just… take a few deep breaths, okay? I hate hearing you cry like this," he said. I continued doing so for another moment, the line on Kendall's end quiet except for an occasional Good or something out of him before he started speaking again. "Alright, Jo… you know you can tell me anything, right?" he asked.

Oh God, I've been dreading what he was about to ask. I knew telling him was a bad idea, I knew it!

"Y-Yeah," I answered softly.

"Just answer this for me," he told me. I swallowed hard, expecting the worse. "You weren't… were you…" he trailed off and paused, obviously struggling. I swallowed hard, awaiting the dreaded question.

"Were you raped tonight?"

I felt tears come to my eyes again. "No," I answered truthfully, "I wasn't raped tonight." I was just hit and beaten into sex a few times by Jett two summers ago. And he tried to do it again tonight. No huge difference, right? "No, nothing that happened in the dream happened to me tonight… I have no idea what brought it on, anyway…" I continued, lying towards the end. I felt terrible.

"Than what did happen, Jo?" he asked carefully.

I closed my eyes and sighed. "Can we not talk about that right now?" I asked. "I really just want to try and go back to sleep right now. Heck, you even need it more than I do…" I said, hearing a light, relieved sounding laugh from Kendall's end.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," he responded, and I could hear a sniffle on his end. Yup, he was crying. I didn't know if I should have felt terrible about it (which I truly did), or feel happy that he cared about me that much. Regardless, I smiled a small smile before hearing Kendall's voice again. "But, I think I have something that'll make you feel a little better…" he said in a cheeky tone, and I could imagine the adorable smile on his face.

"What?" I asked, even hearing my own tone brighten up a little.

"Need me to sing you to sleep?" he asked with a soft voice and cheerful tone.

I nodded and smiled. Camille visibly relaxed when she saw me do that. "I'd love that," I answered.

Kendall chuckled again at my answer. "Any requests?"

"Surprise me," I replied airily, turning to my side and fully sinking into the pillows.

A moment later, his voice rang through the receiver.

_"Say they let you down_  
_"I've been there_  
_"I have felt it too_  
_"You are not alone_  
_"Don't worry_  
_"I'll never let them talk to you that way again_

_"You can stay in my arms_  
_"Till the morning comes I'll sing this song for you_  
_"Stay till the morning comes again_  
_"You can stay in my arms_  
_"Till the morning comes, until this storm is through_  
_"Till the morning comes again, I'll be by your side_

The smile on my face never faded away as Kendall serenaded me over the phone. I listened to every word that escaped left his mouth and fell into my ears. For once the entire night, I felt at peace with everything happening in my world, good and bad. Tomorrow (today, technically) would still be bad, and I'd get through it. I knew I would.

As Kendall finished, I was already half asleep. I felt Camille's hand gently remove my phone, and then I slipped back into unconsciousness and fell asleep soundly.

* * *

**Eh, i sorta like this. If I could write it better, i'd like it more. Plus, I'm sure that my new favorite song is in here. Thanks to waterwicca for recommending it to me:**

**"Stay (In My Arms)" - Nevertheless**

**But, I almost used an amazing song she has used in PTS, and is featured in surfergal23's oneshot series Memories Of A Lifetime, called "Your Guardian Angel" - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Check out both songs, they're so amazing :D**

**Oh, and fanfiction has been acting really weird and wonky (yes, i said wonky) the past few days, so if you haven't read or reviewed Chapter 19 yet, I'd reeeaaally appreciate it if you did, and left a review. I only have a few up so far, and i'll blame that on the site's problems, but if you wouldn't mind doing so, I'll bake virtual cookies and pass them out to every one of you :D And believe me, i make the best peanut butter cookies around, so look forward to those if you do review, haha!**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	22. Chapter 21

**Whoo-hoo! Spring Break baby! That means updates will come quicker than usual right? No! :D Haha.**

**This week is kinda busy for me, unfortunately. I have work coming up, and i'm finally going prom dress shopping this week :), plus i'm going down to the shore next weekend where my grandmother lives, and the whole family is celebrating Easter down there. I'll still update when i can. I have a bunch of ideas brewing in my head for a lot of different things coming up. Inluding... wait for it... a love scene? :0 Yes, that will be coming up, but not for a while. Sorry for those who love the smut, myself included :( But once we get there, you'll freaking love it! :D**

**Alright, enough rambling. Here's another "BIttersweet" preview!**

_James_

I was going absolutely crazy. Here I was, pacing back and forth my penthouse, hair soaked to my face, towel around my waist looking at my phone. Should I call her? Will she answer? Do I even want to call her? When did I even care about calling her? I swallowed hard, and ran my hands through my damp hair, beads of water trickling off my body.

I, James Diamond was _not_ used to this.

It all started in Minnesota, two months ago…

I had woken up in my penthouse suite at the Parker-Jones, with a dirty blonde girl beside me, peacefully sleeping. I watched as her lips stayed pursed as her messy blonde hair, and exposed upper half seemed to mock me for what I had done. I sighed and sat up in bed, the light hurting my eyes from the slight hangover I had. I remembered her name was April, like the month. I also remembered that in the middle of our tryst, she had said something about a twin sister who wanted to join us, and that she was just a phone call away. I guess I had foolishly declined, seeing as there was only one girl in the bed next to me.

After she awoke and I rushed her out of the door sweetly of course, telling her I was leaving the next day and never coming back. She obviously didn't believe me, and pouted a bit at the fact that she wouldn't be seeing anymore of me. Oh well. After taking a well deserved hot shower, I headed downstairs to the dining room, seeing if the breakfast buffet they had every morning was still open. When I found that it was, of course I got on line and put some fruit, and toast on my plate, not wanting to eat anything too heavy because of my mini-hangover.

As I made my way to the dining room, alone, my eyes scanned the room for somewhere to sit. As I looked over the huge room, in which it seemed everyone in the hotel was eating in, I saw her. Her.

Skyler Thomas.

I didn't believe it was her at first. She had the same beautiful wavy, dirty blonde hair, those almond chocolate eyes, that beautiful crooked white smile and the same old natural beauty that just seemed endless. Skyler was never one to glam herself up with make-up in high school, usually just wearing whatever she wanted, being very laid back and relaxed. But more importantly…

Skyler Thomas was the one woman I had ever loved.

We had been an item back before I left Minnesota for BTR when I was just a young sixteen. We had started going out the summer before junior year, July 24th to be correct. We'd spend summer day after day in her backyard, sitting in the tree house her father had made for her when she was little, just talking and looking up at the stars. We'd spend fall days running through leaves at the park, pushing each other into them and laughing like idiots. We'd spend winter days cuddled up by the fire in her huge living room, taking advantage of when her parents both worked late to make love in front of it. We had been each other's first times. I loved Skyler Thomas more than I could ever imagine loving a woman.

And then, that December, Logan drove us to that audition, and _everything_ changed.

**Admit it, you actually love reading these little snippets. So go and check it out, and all of surfergal23's other stories.**

**Okay, onto Chapter 20!**

**Disclaimer: **Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. All songs I mention belong to their rightful owners. All title rights go to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

**WARNING: Must I say it? You guys should probably know at this point...**

* * *

I surprisingly slept soundly for another few hours. More than a few hours, actually, it was more like six. I didn't have any dreams, but I didn't have any nightmares, either. That's an improvement, right? I woke up again just after 10:30 to the sound of my phone vibrating on the nightstand next to me. I groaned softly and subconsciously reached to grab it, my eyes slowly opening to read the name of the person texting me. I felt another headache come on, but I could tell it wouldn't be as bad as the one I had last night. Again, that has to be another improvement.

_Kendall_

A smile made itself known on my face as I opened my phone and checked my inbox.

_On my way 2 the studio. Call me if u need anything, AT ANY TIME! :)  
-K_

I smiled a little wider as I stared at the text for another moment. I quickly pressed the reply button and immediately texting my response.

_Youre the best, you know that? :D  
-Jo_

I set my phone back down on the nightstand before moving to get up. Not the smartest move on my part. I felt another wave of nausea come over me and I rushed to the bathroom again, throwing up the rest of the nothing that was in my stomach (did that even make sense?). Thankfully, that was done and over with rather quicker than before, but that didn't make the situation any better. In fact, it was worse.

What made this time worse than earlier this morning? There were people _everywhere_! In the hallway, in the bathroom, in the doorways of their dorms, etcetera. And to make that even worse, do you know how many odd stares I got on my way back to my dorm? Tons, hundreds even, and I'm not over exaggerating when I say that.

When I stepped back into the dorm, I glanced over at the mirror on Camille's side of the room, coincidentally facing the doorway right now. I nearly had to do a double-take, that's how bad I looked. My eyelids were swollen and puffy, an obvious sign that I was crying the previous night. And as if that wasn't enough, there were bruises all over. Purple-blue marks had fully formed on my face now, even showing the slightest bit of an imprint from Jett's hand. There were faint blue marks on my arms that I guessed had formed earlier in the morning, during my second round of sleep. I think there were even a couple light red, puffy scratches, small enough to look like someone had dug their nails into my arms. Plus, there was the one scratch on my forehead. They seemed like they would heal in a few days.

I don't know what, but there was something in the back of my brain nagging me to lift up my tank top to get an examination of my waist. I breathed nervously and fingered the hem of my shirt, hesitatingly lifting it to just under my boobs. I almost gasped, my reflection staring back at me with her mouth agape. There were dark bluish-black, oddly shaped marks all along my sides, my guess from when Jett had lifted me up and brought me up the stares. They were so much darker than any other bruise on my body, and would take a hell of a lot longer to heal. How was that possible? I didn't feel anything then that would cause that much pain, but then again, my judgment was a little hazy last night. I probably couldn't feel whatever he had done to me. Tears pricked at my eyes again as I thought of all that, and thought of what could have happened, but refused to let them fall. I already cried enough last night. Who needs to see more of that? Right, no one.

The next hour was spent with me just lying down back in bed, half paying attention to the TV, which I had turned on for the sake of background noise. _Rachael Ray_ was on for a while, that was good. And _The View_ was on now. I noticed Camille had left a note, saying she had already called in sick for me at work and did not expect to see me at the one class we had together, some type of Freshmen Seminar type of thing that's mandatory for us to take. We don't even do anything in there, and the professor rarely takes attendance. For the most part, people just sit there, and either listen to their iPods or do some work for their other classes, me included. But hey, can you blame us with our heavy workload? No? That's what I thought.

I sent a couple mindless text messages to Kendall and took another dose of Advil meanwhile, and drank nearly a whole water bottle to get the gross vomit taste out of my mouth. I wanted to brush my teeth. I wanted a shower, I desperately needed a shower, I don't think I've felt this violated or dirty since two summers ago. And even though Jett never got far enough for him to do anything, I still felt horrible. But, as much as I wanted to hop in the shower, there were still people occupying the halls and bathroom. I wanted to wait until a good time when everything was clear and mostly everyone was in class. The less stares, the better.

I finally braved myself to step out of the room at twelve, quickly going to the bathroom with my shower caddie and a clean change of clothes. I got to brush my teeth, hallelujah, and hopped into the first unattended shower stall I found. I don't think I've felt this relieved about anything in a long while. I remained in there for a little over a half hour, washing my hair and scrubbing off any trace of Jett I felt there still was on me, taking extra care of my bruised arms and waistline. How the fuck did I not even feel that? It hurts even more now, and I've barely touched it all day.

When I stepped out, I changed into a pair of comfortable jeans and a plain green tank top, shrugging Kendall's hoodie on right after, both to hide my bruises on my arms and to give me an extra sense of comfort that I desperately needed. I'm still wondering why I didn't wear it at all last night, that would have made me feel a little better if I did. I pulled my damp hair into a messy bun and went back to our dorm, where I noticed Amber sitting on my bed. She had a nighttime class on Mondays.

"Hey," I muttered softly, placing my dirty laundry in my basket inside mine and Camille's closet.

"Hey," she said back, no enthusiasm in her voice. "How are you feeling?" she asked nervously.

I sighed. Of course she knew. "I've been better, obviously," I answered when I turned back around. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

The blonde shrugged her shoulders. She wore a coral colored Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirt with black yoga pants, and I could tell she had piled on concealer earlier to hide the dark bags under her eyes. "Thought I'd check on you," she answered casually. I sat down next to her. I could tell she noticed the bruises on my face, but she didn't want to say anything. I'd have to cover those up a little later. "I got so wasted last night, I had no idea what was happening with you," she chuckled nervously, meeting her gaze with mine.

"I'm fine now," I reassured her. "Apparently, if it wasn't for your boyfriend… I have no idea what the hell would have happened…" I trailed off, looking to the floor.

"I know, Will told me everything about an hour or two ago when I finally woke up," she said. My head snapped up and looked at her. What?

"What?" I asked.

She nodded. "He told me the whole story," she replied, her tone saddened all of a sudden.

I couldn't stop myself from asking. "What ended up happening?" I asked her, curiosity and sadness in my voice. "All I remember is blacking out for a while and woke up in here about an hour later," I told her, gesturing to the rest of the room.

She sighed and started her story. "I brought him up to the room next to yours, you know, being the insane horny drunk I am," she chuckled the last part. I smirked, too. "And while Will was still sober and was trying to talk some sense into me, he heard screaming and shouting coming from the other room…" She paused, and I again looked down to hide the fact I was tearing up at her story. "I faintly remember hearing was Will shouting downstairs. He had called for a couple extra guys to come up, and said that one of his friends was on the verge of getting… raped," she said, obviously struggling to find the right words, and figure out what was right or wrong to say.

I heard her sniffle and looked up to see her gazing at her lap, where she was picking at her nails nervously. "Anyways, long story short," she started again, looking up to face me again. "Some of them got Jett off of you and gave him a 'stern talking to,' according to Will," she went on with air quotes. Now everything is beginning to make sense. I smirked and laughed lightly at what she said. "He and one of his friends went to take care of you, but then you cried yourself to sleep or something. Will came back into our room and grabbed me I guess, I think I was asleep at that point too, and the other guy got you out to the car and he drove us home," she finished.

"How is Will, by the way?" I suddenly asked in a soft voice. "I heard him tell Camille that I had beat him up when he came to my rescue," I added somewhat ashamedly. I did punch her boyfriend, after all.

Amber smiled at me. Okay, good, at least she's not bad about that. "Not one scratch," she answered confidently. Oh thank God!

We ended up talking for another ten or fifteen minutes about any and everything. Okay, maybe not everything, but definitely anything else that was not related to last night, much to my relief.

The rest of the day wasn't that great for me, but it wasn't bad either. I basically spent most of the day in the dorm, hiding from the outside world. What, it's scary out there. And since I barely left the room, I had barely eaten throughout the day. It never phased me. No, I wasn't too depressed to eat or anything like that. I just wasn't all that hungry anyway. Plus, I caught myself up on a few assignments that I had delayed working on, and kept my mind focused on that rather than my stomach. Ha, so I did end up having a productive day!

Around five-ish, Camille insisted via text message that I meet her in Amber's dorm just down the hall. And to come in comfy clothes. I sighed at the message and saved what I had done of my term paper on child development and slowly got ready. I covered the bruises on my face with foundation and concealer (which oddly turned out better than I thought it would), changed out of my jeans into a pair of sweatpants, zippered Kendall's hoodie halfway, and made my way down to Amber's room. No odd stares or sympathetic looks from people this time. Yay.

I invited myself into the room, seeing Amber sprawled out across her bed, Camille on the other. Amber had changed out of her t-shirt into a white camisole, and Camille was even in a pair of pajama pants and a camisole that I guessed were Amber's. She never came into our room all throughout the day.

They both looked up and saw me, smiles on their faces when I entered the room. "Well, look who it is," Camille chimed happily.

Amber smirked at her as I rolled my eyes. "You look better," she commented optimistically.

"It's called makeup, genius," I replied lightheartedly.

"I figured that," she said. "But in general, you look better than you did this morning," she added.

I smiled and collapsed into a chair she had in her room. It was almost like a pink, fuzzy rug that was held up on white metal poles. What were those things called again? It looked sort of like a butterfly itself, maybe that was what it was called. "I feel a little better," I admitted, relaxing a little more in the butterfly chair. "I'm more relaxed, at least," I added.

"Well, good," Camille responded, jumping up and off the bed to show her upcoming authority. "Because we are having a Movie Monday Night," she announced excitedly. Um, okay? "Amber's roommate is gonna be dry humping her boytoy all night, we're getting Chinese takeout, Natalie and her roommate are on their way," she continued, bending down to retrieve a Blockbuster bag next to the bed. I know, I'm shocked too that there's even one open,"and we have enough chick flicks to last a lifetime," she concluded, shaking the plastic bag that must have held ten DVD's lightly in the air as she spoke.

"B-But…" I started.

"No buts," Amber interjected. Meanie. "You need something to clear your head, and this is perfect!" she said excitedly.

"Don't you have class at seven?" I asked her.

Amber shook her head. "I haven't missed one class the whole year. I deserve at least one break, right?" she answered. "And besides, this sounds more exciting than Biology and evolution and all that other lovely crap," she went on, smiling.

I shook my head back. "You don't have to do this," I reassured her.

"Nonsense," she answered, getting up from her bed. Camille at this point was trying to work the DVD and Blu-ray player Amber had on her TV. "You are more important right now than one measly class," she told me, stepping closer to me.

Camille chimed in. "And besides," she started, picking up a Wal-Mart bag (where on Earth did that come from?) and dumping its contents onto the floor. A couple bags each of chips and popcorn, a bag of M&Ms, some dip, and – ooh! – sour gummy worms all fell out. "We have some of the best junk food in the world right here in front of us," Camille stated as she grabbed another Wal-Mart bag and pulled out a large bottle of iced tea (the girls and I were all currently on a no-soda kick). "And look, sour gummy worms!" Camille added in a sing-song voice, knowing all too well that that was one of my favorite candies, waving the black bag in the air much like she did with the bag of DVDs.

I sighed dramatically. "Fine, I guess I'll stay," I said, my own lips curling into a smile, earning laughs from my two friends.

The door opened a second later. "Alright, I got everyone's favorites right here!" Will's voice exclaimed happily. My head turned around quickly, and my body unwillingly tensed up. Will walked into the room, a large brown paper bag in his hand, followed by is roommate – I think his name was Dillon or something – coming in behind with another bag. Both of them had on sweatpants and wife beaters and unzipped sweatshirts, telling me that they were staying here through the night. Crap. Will caught my gaze instantly, and gave me a warm smile. "Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked easily, but obviously sensing some of the tension between us.

"Better," I nodded, flashing my own smile to ease whatever insecurities I figured he had. His smile widened as he set the food down. I turned to Camille, who had a knowing smirk on her face.

She set this up.

"Camille, can I talk to you outside for a sec?" I asked, getting up from my chair.

"Sure," she answered casually.

A moment later, we were out in the thankfully empty hallway, where I was giving the brunette a rather pissed off look. Understandable, right? "Why the fuck is Will here?" I asked her in a harsh whisper.

"He felt terrible all day about what happened last night," she said in the same casual tone, her brown eyes showing more emotion than before, though. "Amber and I figured that getting the two of you back together in the same room would make things a little better between you guys and to get all the weird awkward things out of the way," she explained.

"Did you ever think that maybe I'd feel uncomfortable with him in the same room as me?" I asked. "I mean, yeah, I get your reasoning, and I know I wasn't actually raped last night and I feel incredibly stupid for feeling this way, but I really don't know if I want to be around a guy right now and act completely normal when-" I rambled until Camille cut me off. Thank God. Even I was getting sick of hearing everything coming out of my mouth.

"Stop," Camille laughed lightly. Bitch. This isn't funny. "Don't worry about any of that, I get it," she said sincerely. "I'm sorry for inviting him over, really. I'll ask him to leave once we go back inside, and we'll make this into a girls' night in," she told me.

Aw, that's the sweetest thing some has offered to do for me.

But still, I couldn't let her go through with it, even when I had basically just asked her to. I sighed and shook my head. "Don't," I said. "He's already here, and… you were kind of right before," I continued, shrugging my shoulders. "It's probably a good idea to get all the weird, awkward-y moments out of the way while we can," I ended, smiling.

"Are you sure?" Camille asked. "Because I'm sure he'd understand if we asked him to leave-"

Now it was my turn to cut her off. Sweet, I love it! "Yes, I'm sure," I reassured her firmly. "I'll be fine with it tonight, I promise."

She sighed softly. "Okay," she answered.

"But thank you," I smiled at her. "For dealing with all the shit I've put you through in the last twenty-four hours," I said.

She instantly pulled me into a hug. "Anytime," she said back. We stayed like that for another short while before pulling away. "Now, what do you say we go back in there and start eating a little before Nat shows up?" she suggested happily.

I nodded. "Sounds great, I'm starving!" I exclaimed with a laugh. Camille chuckled back and we walked back into the room, only to find Will and Dillon unpacking the brown takeout bags.

"Yay, Jozilla's back!" Will said excitedly when he noticed my return. Asshole.

"Asshole," I muttered just loud enough for him to hear, making him laugh at me.

"So Jo, a little birdie told me you hadn't eaten all day," he reminded me. What? How the hell did he know that? "I don't know if it's because you're all depressed and not hungry from last night or what," he started, obviously keeping the details vague due to Dillon sitting right next to him, who hopefully had no clue as to what happened. "But I am gonna make sure you get some fatty Chinese food in your system," he continued, picking up a white takeout carton and holding it up to me. "And besides, I know how much you love the veggie lo mein at Jade Pagoda," he finished, knowing that that would cheer me up.

I sighed. "Fine," I responded, stepping over and grabbing the carton as well as the chopsticks in his hand. He laughed in victory. Jerk.

"Alright, now I don't care how hungry you are, but by the end of the night, I expect you to have finished at least half of that carton, a large scoop of fried rice, a handful of popcorn, and a fortune cookie or two while we're watching movies," he informed me. Um, since when could you decide what I can and can't eat? Besides, all that in my system sounds gross.

"How about I eat what I can and want without any complaints from you?" I suggested, making myself comfortable on Amber's roommate's bed.

Will shook his head. "Nope, sorry Jo," he said in a tone that didn't sound apologetic at all. Have I mentioned how much of a jerk and an asshole he is?

I sighed again and opened the takeout carton and started eating a little bit.

A while later, Natalie and her roommate came in, dressed in their own pajama pants and tank tops. After getting the food they ordered and making themselves comfortable on the floor, we all ate and talked mindlessly with a DVD playing in the background.

Two movies and a half later, sometime during _Legally Blonde_, and after eating most of the food Will insisted I eat, I fell asleep.

* * *

I woke up in shock, an ache forming in the back of my neck from snapping up so quickly. I was breathing heavily and surveyed my surroundings. I was back in Amber's room, the TV and lights off with six other people scattered around and sleeping soundly. Lucky them. There were empty bags of Lays and popcorn on the floor, white takeout cartons piled into the brown paper bags pushed up against the door, and empty bottles sitting near that.

I turned to the clock on the nightstand separating Amber's bed from her roommate's, which I was currently sitting up in. It was just after three in the morning. You have got to be shitting me!

I made a move to get up and out of the bed to clean up some of the mess when I heard someone stirring in their sleep. I froze in my spot, hearing either Will or Dillon groan lightly in their sleep. No, please don't have it be one of the guys! I extended my hand out next to me and grabbed Kendall's hoodie, wondering when I had taken it off in the first place, and shrugged it on as I noticed one of the guys sit up in their spot.

"H-Hello?" I questioned nervously, wrapping the black hoodie tighter around my now shaking frame. Yeah, that's how scared I was making myself now, and I fucking knew the guy that had woken up.

"Jo?" the guy called back as he stood up off the floor. It was Will.

"Y-Yeah. Yeah, it's me," I stuttered, getting off the bed. I saw a small light turn on, noticing that Will was using his cell phone as a makeshift flashlight so he wouldn't have to turn the light on and wake up anyone else. Smart move. I grabbed my phone out of my sweatpants pocket and flashed my lit up screen in his direction. Yup, it was Will, clad in a black wife beater and pale gray sweatpants, glasses resting lightly on his face, giving me a worried stare.

"Why are you up?" he asked, moving closer to me with cautious footsteps.

I shrugged my shoulders. "No reason… couldn't sleep too well," I partially lied. I had another nightmare a short while ago, causing me to jolt up in bed once again tonight. I don't remember much of it, except Jett shoving me into the bedroom at the party, and actually going further ahead with his… you know… before Will or anyone could come in and save me. And by then it was too late if someone was coming. I couldn't tell if he was drunk or not in the dream, but that wouldn't have made a difference. The dream was terrible either way,

Will went and sat on the bed, patting the seat next to him for me to join, even though I had just gotten up. Where was the sense in that, exactly? I slowly sat next to him, my eyes adjusting to the dark so I could make out his face and body at this point. That's good, I'm happy with that.

"That's not the only reason," Will said, catching onto my lying immediately. Damn, so close.

"You don't know that," I replied shyly, looking down towards the floor again.

"I woke up around one-thirty to clean up the mess a little bit, and you were moaning in your sleep," he told me. Crap, he knew something was up. "Bad dream?" he asked with a sigh.

I knew there was no way out of this, so I nodded, closing my eyes as they began to tear up. What is wrong with me? It's like I am crying at every little thing nowadays. That wasn't how I pictured my freshmen year of college to turn out…

"What was it about?" he asked curiously, wrapping an arm around my shoulders in what he thought was a comforting gesture, but almost made me jump a foot in the air. I flinched immediately and swiftly moved out of his grasp. Plus, it helped that he had moved his arm away from me. "Sorry, I forgot that you'd be a little jumpy after everything," he apologized softly.

I nodded. "It's fine," I reassured him, bringing a hand up to wipe away a tear I didn't realize had fallen. "You didn't know, you haven't been near me since last night," I added.

"Still, I should know better," he responded. I didn't say anything, but only wrapped Kendall's hoodie tighter around me. As I said earlier, it usually brought me an extra sense of comfort, especially now, when I needed it more than anything.

When I needed _him_ more than anything.

"Does Kendall know anything?" Will's voice brought me out of my thoughts a second later.

I shrugged. "He knows something bad happened. I talked to him twice last night in hysterics, but he doesn't actually know," I answered, "but I'm pretty sure he has his suspicions."

"Anything in particular?" he asked curiously.

"I had a rape dream last night," I answered a second or two later. "It was so much worse than the one I just had now, and I told him all about it, so… my guess is that he thinks I was, or something like that," I continued. "He asked me, and I told him the truth and said no, that I wasn't raped last night…"

"But not that you were raped a couple years ago?" he asked. My head snapped up at him. What the hell?

"What?" I asked softly.

"Camille told me this morning," he answered. I looked back down, feeling my blood boil with anger at Camille. She has good intentions, but sometimes, they never turn out as great as she makes them out to be. "She kept the details vague, but said it was the same guy…" Will trailed off.

"…Five times," I found myself admitting to him a few seconds later. I kept my gaze downward, but could imagine the shock written across his face. "It happened to me five times with him," I went on. "We had sex one time before – technically twice. We went for two rounds that night," I said with a light, embarrassed chuckle, "and it was so good… it was like how every girl imagines their first time to be.

"But when junior prom came around a month later…" I paused, not sure of how to continue. I felt Will shift his position so he sat closer to me. I didn't mind at all. "At the after party, he was drunk, and was hanging around with his buddies, and we got into this pointless fight that ended up with him following me to the driveway…" I trailed off at this point as everything flashed across my head again. "And it happened in his car, with no one sober enough to help me out," I finished, feeling more tears sting my eyes again.

"Oh God… Jo…" Will said sadly, wrapping his arms around me. I leaned into his body, and felt my body rack with sobs, not letting any of them escape to risk waking up anyone else in the room. I cried as softly as I could into his chest, feeling his hand move up and down my back as he shushed me.

I made myself pull away after a couple minutes of crying, furiously rubbing my face and sniffling as Will got up and started walking around the room. He sat down next to me a moment later, a handful of unused napkins from the takeout bags in his hand. "Here," he offered. "I couldn't really find any tissues in here," he explained with a slight smile.

I smirked and took one from his hands, using that to wipe the tear streaks under my eyes. "Thanks," I said softly, sniffling again.

"Come on," Will said, wrapping an arm around my waist and pushing me off the bed as we both stood up. He continued leading me through the pack of people on the floor and to the door. Um hello, I can walk myself, you know! We walked out of the room and down the hall to mine and Camille's room, where he opened the door for me and lightly pushed me in as he turned on the light and followed me. "You might be a little more comfortable sleeping in your own bed tonight," he suggested, stepping ahead of me to pull my covers down.

I smiled and sniffled again, laying down in the bed as he wrapped the comforter over my body. "Shouldn't you be taking care of your girlfriend this way rather than me?" I asked him teasingly.

Will smirked. "I would if the situation were reversed," he said honestly, kneeling down so he was now at eyelevel with me. "Still, you and Camille are kind of like my own weird little sisters. I have to take care of you guys, too," he added, still smiling.

I smiled at him. "Thank you," I said softly. "And I'm so sorry about everything… especially last night…" I continued in a weak voice.

"Don't even mention it," he said sincerely, leaning to kiss the top of my head. "Now get some sleep, alright?" he asked, his brown eyes showing worry and playfulness all at once.

I couldn't help the small laugh that escaped my lips. "I'll try," I responded as he stood up and went out the door.

I slept on and off through the rest of the morning, finally deciding to get up around seven-fifteen. I had another dream about Jett, but I barely remembered it to be honest. All I really can remember was seeing his face and feeling pain course through my stomach again. Other than that, I can't pinpoint any other details.

I managed to get myself ready and changed, wearing a comfy t-shirt with dark skinny jeans and black ballet flats. I did my makeup again, tied my hair back into a high ponytail, made sure I had Kendall's hoodie on me once again, and walked out to Amber's room to see if everyone else was awake.

Much like I had guessed, everyone was still passed out and in their original spots. Even Will, who I had figured would have taken up the bed I was in or joined Amber in hers. I smiled and shook my head, going to her window and pulling back the thick curtains to let in some sunlight. "Come on you guys, wake up," I said in a chipper voice. I know, I'm actually lively this morning. I'm in shock, too.

I heard a few groans as I gazed outside for a few seconds. The sun had risen and was shining over campus. It was late-March, so birds were chirping away outside, and people were walking along the cobblestone pathways with cups of coffee and textbooks in their hands. I felt a small smile form on my face. Today is a new day. And the last way I want to spend it is wallowing in self pity once again. I'd take whatever it was in store for me with a little bit more of a confident attitude. Well, give me a break, I'm still not completely over what had happened to me, but I was ready to face whatever the day brought for me.

And you know what world?

Bring it on!

* * *

**Eh, the ending sounded a little cheesy. I'm not crazy about it. And don't worry, more drama is coming up soon. It'd be unrealistic if she got over the attack so easily, right? Yup, just what i figured. And then after that, the continuation of the KenJo reunion! :D**

**So, as always, please leave a review. Fanficiton was kinda screwy in the last week, but it seems like all the problems are fixed (knocks on wood). So if you didn't read the last chapter or two, please go and read that, and leave a review, too, if you wouldn't mind :)**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	23. Chapter 22

**OMG, I'm _sooo_ sorry for the delayed update! What is it, _2 Weeks_ exactly since the last chapter?**

**Apologies again. I've been busy, plus i was sick one day this week, plus I had MAJOR writer's block for this chapter, which sucks by the way. I really will not be shocked if i don't get as many reviews for this chapter.**

**This is more of a filler, and nothing important. But i re-read one of my previous chapters, and realized I never put something in the party scene I had mentioned when Jo was talking to Kendall earlier. So, i just added it in here so everything flowed together somewhat nicely. Otherwise, I would have skipped right to all the amazing KenJo stuff i have planned for this story coming up :D I swear you'll love it, and it all starts in the next chapter.**

**Oh, and happy belated Easter, Passover, and every other sping holiday that passed in the last couple of week. My holiday was good, thanks for asking :P I spent Easter weekend with my aunts and uncles and cousins down by the shore, and we took my grandmother out for dinner on Sunday. That was fun. How did you celebrate the holidays?**

**And uh, yeah, that's about it. Here's another "Bittersweet" preview for ya. This is one of my favorite scenes right here, it's so adorable!**

_Carlos_

I stirred in my sleep and sighed deeply, just coming out of some sort of dream where I was a superhero. I felt a light kiss on my lips and prayed to **God** it was Natta and _not_ the super-villain whose ass I was kicking. I fluttered my eyes open and saw my beautiful girlfriend atop me with a sly smile on her face. Gosh, she looked beautiful even without make-up.

"Good morning, Carlos," Natalie said with a sly smile, her hands on either side of my head. I looked back and forth from her arms and grinned, slinging my hands from under the covers to the sides of her waist.

"Good morning, my sexy girlfriend," I said with a chuckle, immediately pulling her waist to mine, as she collapsed on top of me. She let out a beautiful, melodious laugh as I encased my hand in hers, her lips just centimeters away from mine, as I kissed them gently. She pulled away from me with a chuckle and shook her head.

"I'm not kissing you until you brush your teeth," she spoke with a fake pout. I sighed deeply and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Seriously? You're gonna do that to me? When you are on top of me like this?" I asked her with a laugh. She took my head in her hands and kissed my forehead tenderly with a smirk.

"Oh, what? Last night wasn't enough for you?" she asked with a grin, her beautiful radiance peeking out through her face. I sat up in bed, as she moved up more on my lap, and I slung my hands around her waist with a chuckle.

"Oh believe me, last night was **definitely** enough for me," I spoke out in a seductive lustful voice. I went to her cheek and kissed it softly, the warmness of her oak body wash spreading through my own body. "And by the way you were screaming last night, I can say the same for you."

Natalie rolled her eyes, her face a tad blush as she looked at me with a giggle. "Carlos, stop it, don't be gross," she giggled, pushing me away. But in fluid motion, I pulled her body to mine, and she let out a giggle, as I pinned her playfully under me and started to kiss her face. She giggled in glee as her hands went around my neck and I began to peck her lips.

"Mhmm…you're not fighting it _now_, are you?" I asked her between laughs, as she closed her eyes in pure joy and ecstasy, nodding no. I went to her neck, and found the spot right above her birthmark that she always loved to have kissed and I kissed it gently. I started playfully pecking it, but as I continued on her neck, the kisses got a bit more intense. I started ravenously sucking at her neck as she let out a small moan of pleasure.

"Round two this early?" I whispered in her ear seductively, my hands moving to her bare legs, creeping up her barely there pajama shorts. Natalie giggled and nodded, moving her head back to allow my more access to my neck, when suddenly the doorbell rang.

"Shit!" I exclaimed, jumping off my beautiful girlfriend, landing beside her my heart racing. Natalie laughed out loud and looked at me with a smile. She was in such a good mood this morning.

**So yeah, that's kinda it for the adorable part. It gets more dramatic as the chapter continues. What's that, you want to know what happens? Read the story and find out for yourself! And surfergal23's "Hooked." It's really getting good right now. The boys just moved to Hollywood...! :D**

**So, without further ado, here's Chapter 22 of "Campus Crush!"**

**Disclaimer: **Most (if not, all) of the characters mentioned in this story belong to Scott Fellows and Nickelodeon. All songs I mention belong to their rightful owners. All title rights go to ABC Family. I only own NJU and Jack's Diner.

**WARNING: Must I say it? I don't wanna, it makes me sad to type these out... :'(**

* * *

"Ugh! I'm so tired of this!" I groaned Wednesday afternoon, leaning against the now empty counter at Jack's Diner, forehead pressed against the granite, after making sure neither Jack nor Jenny were around to hear. They weren't, so yay, I suppose.

"Hang in there, Jo," Tyler, one of the other waiters, encouraged me as he walked behind me. I loved him. He was one of those guys that would hype up any of the other waiters or chefs when we were down, or bored, or had nothing to do, or anything along those lines while on the job. "It's only another twenty minutes 'til _your_ shift ends," he ended on a bitter note… mockingly, of course. I smirked at that. His shift goes into later in the night, mine doesn't. I feel special-er now.

"It's so slow, though!" I whined, not picking my head up. No joke, I don't think I've ever seen it this slow before. Only one side of the two main dining rooms is being used right now. And even then, there are only three tables that are filled. Three! I have one, Tyler has one, and some girl I don't know has one, too. And another two or three waiters on the clock are just hanging around waiting for someone else to come in.

I suddenly heard a bell behind me ring, from the kitchen. "Table 2's order," one of the chefs hollered.

I groaned before going to grab the plates of food. "When can I go home again?" I asked no one in particular.

"C'mon Jo. Hustle, hustle, hustle!" Tyler cheered before leaving to check on one of the other tables. His only table. Again, I groaned a little and piled the two club sandwiches and kids' sized hamburger onto a tray before taking them to the small family I was waiting on. I did the usual, asked if they needed anything, went to refill whatever drink orders they had, and joked around with the dad, all with a fake cheery smile on my face.

Yesterday was as good as it could get for me, I suppose. I wasn't scheduled to work again until today, so I didn't have to worry about that entirely. I went to my two classes of the day – a math and a writing class – had lunch with Camille (she brought food in from Panera so I didn't have to be out of the dorm more than necessary), finished the last of my assignments, talked with Kendall briefly on the phone, anything that would make it a normal, ordinary day.

Until later that night, when I fell asleep and had another glorious Jett nightmare. I woke up at two in the morning, maybe a little after, to my phone buzzing on the nightstand and tears already streaming down my face.

Kendall had coincidentally finished a late night recording session with the guys and Gustavo, and thought he'd send me a text to see how I was doing. I ended up calling him not even five minutes later, figuring that hearing his voice would make me feel better. It did, as always. And it helped that I grabbed his hoodie and put that on while I walked out of the room to continue talking on the phone. Camille was already asleep, and I didn't want to wake her up again due to my nighttime troubles.

I ended up staying in the bathroom down the hall for a good hour just talking to him about anything. Kendall could tell that I was distressed about something, but didn't push the issue any further than that. I knew he wouldn't, he's awesome like that. Meanwhile, I lifted my shirt up and examined my horrid bruises, which seemed to expand to the point where it looked like one large blackish-blue mark on my stomach. I nearly cried just seeing how bad it was getting, and the fact that it wasn't healing like I thought it would.

But on a lighter note, the marks on my face were already starting to fade and yellow around the edges. That's a plus, right?

Just as I went to relax at the counter again, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I quickly grabbed it, eager for some sort of distraction from the ever growing boredom, and smiled when I saw it was Kendall. Speak of the devil.

_Hey! Hows work going for ya?  
-Kendall_

I smirked and texted my response as my phone vibrated with another message from an unknown number. I recognized the area code immediately, it was from someone in North Carolina, but I ignored it until I got my response out to Kendall.

_A drag :( How's gustavo and the other dogs?  
-Jo_

Their record producer had taken to calling the band his "dogs," after something he had said in an issue of Rolling Stone way back when, when he was auditioning people to be his new project. He had said something along the lines of "I can turn a dog into a superstar," or something like that, in the interview when asked about his big comeback (he was the man behind a bunch of boy bands in the eighties and nineties). And when the guys oh so uncharacteristically challenged him to that… well, that's when the whole Dogs thing came about. I think it's cute.

Kendall hates that.

Once the message had been sent, I went to my inbox to see who texted me. It was probably a wrong number, or one of my friends had probably changed their number and were just shooting me a text to let me know.

In a perfect world, that's all it would be. But not with me. Sigh.

I recognized the number anywhere, even after I deleted it from my Contacts list long ago…

_Jo, we need to talk. Plz shoot me a call when you can?_

I didn't even need to see the signature the followed. It was Jett, I knew that. Plus, who else would send me something with that much desperation behind it? Well, maybe Camille if something "life changing" was happening. Like when she awarded one of the leads in A Midsummer Night's Dream, or when her friend-with-benefits just asked her out the other day, and she just desperately had to tell me the news right away. Needless to say, she was a piece of work. But a lovable one!

Thankfully, I got another text from Kendall which gave me a bit of a temporary relief. My lips spread into a small smile, knowing I had an excuse to keep me from replying to Jett, if I even have to reply to him. Please don' tell me I have to.

_The same, carlos nearly killed himself about an hour ago, and james is excited he has the lead in a new song we're doing.  
-Kendall_

Ha ha, no surprise there.

_Typical. :D  
-Jo_

* * *

"And you didn't respond to him, right? Please don't tell me you said anything to him!" Camille begged later that night. My thought process exactly! I knew Camille and I were close for a reason.

"I wouldn't have dreamed of it," I responded. The two of us were hanging out in our room, studying on our respected beds with textbooks and some food at hand. Not a lot, we just got a few bags of chips and bottles of Vitamin Water at the local 7-11 to keep us energized through our work.

"So what'd you do? Just ignore him?" she asked while I nibbled on a potato chip and looked over a chapter in my science textbook, a yellow highlighter in my hand. Yeah, didn't we just establish that fact? "Did he call you or anything when you didn't text him back?" Camille continued to ask.

I shook my head. "Nope," I answered simply. Couldn't we just drop the subject already? I have a huge test tomorrow, and this isn't how I imagined I'd be studying for it. My phone rang from its spot next to me, picking it up as I set my highlighter down on my notes. Uh oh. "Uh oh," I muttered, reading the number that flashed across the screen.

Camille's head snapped up from whatever she was doing. "Who is it?" she asked.

"I'll give you three guesses," I sighed as she moved over to my bed. The phone rang a second time as she moved to sit on the edge of said bed and glanced over my shoulder. I didn't have to answer her directly. She already knew by my discomfort.

"Are you gonna answer?" she asked me.

I sighed and looked up at her as a third ring went off. "Should I?"

Camille sighed. "Do what you want," she told me. There's a bit of a shock. "But if you do decide to pick up, you better hit the fucking speaker button," she went on sternly as she got up and went to her bed again, a devilish smirk on her pale face. "I'll give him a piece of my mind if need be," she added for reassurance.

I laughed lightly and glanced down at my phone again, reading the familiar number once more. This could be my chance to get rid of him once and for all… and Camille did say she'd give me a hand in that department. Plus, telling him off would probably help me get over all the shit that had happened. It was perfect. I let it ring a fourth time before sighing and pressing the speaker button.

"What do you want, Jett?"

Camille's head snapped around, eyebrows raised slightly and a look of shock written across her features. And she was the one encouraging me (sort of) to answer the thing! I held my index finger to my lips, shushing her immediately before she said anything, and pointed at my phone just as Jett's voice came on.

"Joanna, hi!" his slurred voice screamed into the phone. I closed my eyes as all too familiar images started flooding back into my mind, just from hearing the dude's voice! Wasn't this supposed to be helping me like I thought? I couldn't feel this way again. I just can't. Yeah, this phone call is totally doing its job… Not. He spoke again. "Listen… I gotta have a few words with ya," he said into the phone. "A-and the cops just showed up… can't talk for long…"

I scoffed. His speech wasn't slurred like when he was drunk, but it still dragged out every now and again. And none of the stuff he was saying sounded like anything a sane person would say. He was high, I guessed.

"Enlighten me, please. I'm dying to know," I said, sarcasm dripping with every word. Camille took her previous spot next to me on the bed, her gaze switching between me and the phone every so often with a proud smile on her face. That must have meant I was doing something good. Go me!

"Listen…" he started again, pausing briefly. "I-I just thought I'd let you know… let you know how much of a slut… and a freaking whore you are," he said. I swallowed hard. This isn't what I needed. "I mean… you freaking put yourself out there… for dudes like me to fuckin' fuck you, you know?" he went on. More flashes entered my mind – flashes of Jett, the pain I felt the other night, the nightmares I'd had, being back in Jett's car again…

The same feelings were flooding back into me, lovely.

"W-What?" I breathed out.

"Look, you jackass-"

"Stop Jo, you know it's true!" Jett's slurred voice cut Camille off. Could he even hear her, could he tell the difference between our voices? I doubted it in his state of mind.

"Jett, please…" I pleaded in a cracked tone. So much for the strong front I had a while ago.

"And how's that little boyfriend of yours, huh, baby?" he asked. Ew. I hate that name now. "The N'Sync wannabe… Geez, how'd you freaking nail him – play hard to get, drug him, dress in something slutty at one of his concerts-"

"Okay, dude, this is getting really old," Camille interjected for me.

"Jo, _I'm talking_!" he boomed angrily on his end, making both Camille and I jump, yes literally jump, at the outburst. Okay, you continue then. Got it.

There was some rustling and some distant yelling in the background before Jett started speaking again. "Oh fuck! They've found me!" Jett exclaimed into the phone. Who found him? I then heard a distant, gruff voice order him to put the phone down. Jett didn't obey. Big surprise. "I swear on my life… once I'm out, I'm coming after you Jo Taylor. Mark my words!"

"Sir, you are under arrest-" the distant voice came again, followed by a dial tone as I imagined a police officer taking the phone and hanging up on me. Thank _God_!

I pressed the End button after a couple of seconds, still taking everything in. He was high, and when people are high, they tend to say _everything_ that's on their mind, no matter how good or bad. And if I was a… what he called me, was that even true? Did I really put myself out there for guys to think I was easy like that?

Maybe Jett was right… maybe I had set myself up for all the horrible things he did to me.

I heard Camille exhale as I looked up to face her. "Well… maybe having him locked up will keep him from tormenting you…" she tried optimistically, a hopeful smile on her face.

"Yeah, maybe…" I sighed, looking back at my phone.

"Are you okay?" she asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. I flinched instantly, and she brought her hand back. Really, did I have to go back to that mindset now? I sighed softly again and forced a small smile as I glanced back up at Camille.

"I will be," I partially lied, fighting back tears as I replayed the call briefly in my head.

I would be okay though, I know that much. Eventually, I will be.

* * *

**The ending sucks. Really sorry for that, especially after the long wait...**

**But next chapter does get better! :D And this drama will all reside down to make way for some more! That's always good, right?**

**Please review as always. Or don't. This sucked, i won't be hurt if there aren't as many reviews. But I'd appreciate it if you did :D**

**PEACE!  
-Megs**


	24. Important AN

**Hey hey readers! So sorry i haven't been here in the last few months... if it's any consolation, i baked cookies for all you guys 0:)All kidding aside, i really am sorry for being M.I.A. for the longest time. it first started with some computer trouble, which ended up going on for a good two to three months, and then i started thinking up a KendallxOC and all my time went into planning and pre-writing that. Since, that's been my new little baby and needs a bit more attention than Campus over the last few weeks, as i've been thinking about what to do with this story, I went back to read and see where i left off. And quite frankly, i feel embarrassed that i have this up here. To me, it seems waaayyy to AU and almost like the typical OC story on the fandom. Plus, i posted the first chapter after literally thinking up this story the day before, so everything in here was kinda written off the top of my head and no real planning had gone into this. and why hasn't anyone complained to me about the random little characters that have popped up all over the place?Now, i'm not just gonna up and delete this story, because i know i have plenty of readers on here that really love and follow this story. I've made friends on here through writing it, and it literally has been my baby for the last ten months. I feel i've grown as a writer, as well. I've gotten lots of support through this, especially cause i was going through a bit of a rough patch in my life shortly before posting the first chapter to this story. I cannot be more thankful for all you guys that have left me nice reviews and messaged me about new , i have a bit of a solution that'll satisfy both of us... A REWRITE!yes, i plan on re-writing this thing. Like i just said, this story has been my baby, and i plan on helping it grow and develop into a better and well-rounded story. It will still hold the same plotline, but I just wanna fix the writing a bit, change the settings and such, and make it very less AU/typical-OC. It'll be a much better story in the longrun, i guarantee it :DI really hope you guys support my decision to do this. I'm very excited about it, and i'm praying you guys feel the same way! I'll keep this up for a while, maybe a few more weeks or so, before officially deleting it. Now updates for this won't be as quick as before, thanks to college, but any freetime i have will be devoted to the two stories i have up here... especially after this week, when midterms are done and over with!So with that said and done, message and review me your thoughts. Again, deep apologies for the long wait, and for potentially getting all your hopes up when you recieved the alert for this story. The first chapter should be up very shortly... maybe even in the next few days! :D I love you guys, and am looking forward to reading what you guys have to say. Hopefully see you guys in the following few days!**


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